


Try and Run With Frozen Legs

by Aimandfire



Series: Try And Run [2]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cold Weather, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Eating Disorders, Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Happy Ending, Gaslighting, Guilt, Hallucinations, Heavy Angst, Injury, Injury Recovery, Kidnapping, Malnutrition, Manipulation, Miscommunication, Near Death, Paranoia, Poison, Poisoning, Self-Hatred, Starvation, Stockholm Syndrome, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Thats the main plot, Unreliable Narrator, You Have Been Warned, a shit ton of gaslighting, unsympathetic dream
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:40:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 26,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28073352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aimandfire/pseuds/Aimandfire
Summary: Dream is pleased with the progress he's made with Tommy, but he worries. He worries that his friends might pull him back, worries that Tommy will stop believing him. Luckily Dream has a plan. After the disastrous beach party he lures Tommy somewhere new,  a cabin in the middle of a snowy biome where he couldn't leave and no one could find him.As Tommy becomes more and more isolated with Dream convincing him his own memories can't be trusted and he's a danger to himself and his friends the L'Manburg citizens race to find their missing friend and take him from the clutches of Dream's manipulation and bring him home.
Series: Try And Run [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098149
Comments: 495
Kudos: 1143





	1. Smiles To Lure

**Author's Note:**

> This story contains a lot of emotional and mental manipulation and A LOT of gaslighting. Just be warned.

Dream was happy with the progress he made with Tommy. The once insolent child who hated everything about him now viewed him as his only friend. That is if you exclude Wilbur, but Wilbur was a ghost.

Of course Dream wasn’t about to let his guard down. Tommy was a stubborn kid, and actually quite smart. Most people couldn’t see it with his immature demeanor, but he was good with problems, with seeing things outside the box, and had good instincts when it came to people. He was not easy to manipulate, and if Dream didn’t know what he was doing there's no way Tommy would believe a word he said.

It was hard at first, and Dream worried he might have taken things too far in the nether, but he managed to get things back on track, cheering Tommy up, giving him hope, before tearing it all away.

Then Ranboo came to visit, and Tommy told him about the party. The party no one showed up to. The party Dream sabotaged. And Dream started to get nervous. If Ranboo told anyone else, if the story spread, someone might connect the dots. Of course it would be hard to convince Tommy that it was a mistake, but if enough people say something, if even a single seed of doubt is planted… Well Dream’s gotten this far with less, and he wasn’t willing to lose his progress.

So he did what he always did; he planned. He found a snowy tundra far south of the world, a place that only Techno explored before. It was devoid of any life, and perfect for Dream. Tommy wouldn’t just feel isolated, he’d be isolated, alone with only Dream.

He knew Techno used to live there because he found a two story house, large and comfortable but dusty and clearly untouched for a long, long time. It was warm and spacious, with fire pits in every room and wooden floors. Far nicer than Tommy’s little tent. It was rather empty and devoid of anything to do, but homely nonetheless. He even set up a room especially for Tommy, with a soft bed and a with a few pictures. Nothing that reminded him of L’manburg of course, but it was lovely nonetheless.

The house was far, far away, so Dream set up two nether portals. One at the snowy tundra, one at Tommy’s camp.

Then finally when Ghostbur was away Dream approached Tommy, who was sulking. He was sitting on the floor by his bed, his arms wrapped around himself like a hug. It was pathetic, but it was also Dream's fault so he didn’t judge. “Hey Tommy, are you up to anything?” He asked. Tommy didn’t even look up, merely shook his head in response. Dream smiled, but he was sure not to let him see. He was so close to being broken, so very close.

“You’re still bumbed from the party right?” Dream said, matter of factly. “I have something that might cheer you up.” Tommy looked up with wet eyes, and this time he let Tommy see his smile.

“I don’t want anyone's pity gift.” Tommy mumbled, holding himself tightly.

“Oh please, like I would do that. I have something else in mind.” Dream said in a scheming voice that got Tommy’s attention.

“What is it?” He asked softly, lacking any of his usual enthusiasm.

“Well I was thinking how cruel it was for everyone to keep visiting you, but they don’t even show up to your party.” Completely dreams fault “I think it’s because they know you can’t leave, so they don’t see your time as valuable. They just come to visit when they feel guilty or they need something.”

“Way to make me feel better Dream.” Tommy mumbled, looking away.

“I’m not finished” Dream said “I’m starting to wonder how long it would take for them to miss you when they can’t just hop through a portal and see you.”

Tommy looked up at him. Confused. “But I can’t leave here?” He mumbled, sounding unsure.

Dream shook his head and smiled “Ah, well, I have somewhere we can go to a short portal trip away. It’s something I set up long ago in case of emergencies that I thought could be useful. We can go there and stay until they start to actually miss you.” He smiled wickedly.

Tommy snorted “what, is me being sad an emergency?”

Dream frowned “of course it is. You’re my friend after all.”

Tommy blinked in surprise “oh. Thanks.” He mumbled “but I don’t know. What if I start to miss them?” He asked.

Dream shrugged “it won’t be long.” He reassured “it was just an idea after all, I’m not going to force you or anything. I just thought when you returned the others would be so happy that even Tubbo might visit. Still, if you don’t want to leave…” Dream shrugged as he trailed off.

Tommy looked up in shock “do you really think Tubbo would visit?” He asked, hope creeping into his voice.

“Well right now he doesn’t think he’ll ever lose you. Perhaps if you vanish for a week he’ll realize that he can’t just cast you aside and expect you to be in the same spot when he decides he wants to see you again.” Of course this wasn’t what was really going on, but Tommy didn’t need to know that.

Tommy looked up “what if they don’t care?” He said in a soft and fearful voice. “What if they don’t even notice?” He started to cry.

“Oh I’m sure they will.” Dream reassured, while in reality he was taking note of Tommy’s fears and planning how to exploit them. “I’d certainly notice if you just vanished.”

Tommy smiled sadly “thank you Dream, you really are a friend.” 

Dream smirked as he sat down next to Tommy “So? What do you think?”

Tommy looked hesitant, then nodded. “Sure, I’ll go with you.” He finally said, earning a mischievous smile that he only thought was friendly.


	2. Ice To Freeze

“I thought you said it wasn’t too far? Why are we travelling through the nether?” Tommy asked after about thirty minutes of following Dream. He was only wearing a tee shirt and jeans, but was sweating as the nether heat was getting to him. Dream meanwhile was wearing full netherite, but he knew how to enchant it so the temperature around wouldn’t bother him.

“It’s not that long Tommy, don’t whine about it.” Dream scolded gently as he hopped over a block, Tommy stumbling behind. In reality thirty minutes in the nether is a long time, especially when travelling. He handed Tommy a bottle of water, which he drank greedily.

“Thank you” he mumbled, clearly not prepared for a long trek in the nether. He would be exhausted when he got to the cabin. Good.

“We’re only five more minutes away. You can handle it.” Dream taunted, getting him to shut up.

Finally he found the other nether portal, almost the end of their journey. He waited as Tommy stumbled behind, almost to his limit. He was slouched over and dragging his feet. This was expected but Dream flashed an annoyed look anyway.

“You might want to wrap up, it’s going to be cold.” Dream teased as he stepped into the portal, Tommy following behind.

When he walked out the tundra was in mid storm, and the wind was even getting to Dream. When Tommy fell out of the portal he immediately started cussing in surprise, the sweat making him even colder.

“Fuck, it’s freezing.” He mumbled, earning a laugh.

“The place is just around this hill, I won’t let you freeze to death.” He reassured. After all, Tommy was far too valuable to lose.

Still, even walking behind the hill was almost too much for Tommy, the temperature change nearly putting Tommy’s body into shock as he shivered violently. When he saw the cabin glowing with fires he let out a sigh of relief.

Dream walked to the door easily, opening for Tommy, who stumbled inside. He was still shivering and his skin looked a little blue. He looked at the fire in the living room and hobbled over before collapsing on the couch, getting snow all over the floor.

“Usually I’d make you clean that up but you need to get warm first. You can take care of that later.” Dream said as he threw a blanket over Tommy’s shivering form. 

“Thank you” Tommy mumbled, burrowing under the blanket further.

“I’m going to get your things.” Dream said as he walked out into the freezing cold snowy tundra.

He made his way to the portal quickly and traversed the nether. Without having to worry about Tommy he didn’t take nearly as long to get to the pathetic little tent that was set up, and to pack up all of Tommy’s things in a soft rucksack. He didn’t have much.

He double checked that everything was packed up before pulling out a piece of flint and steel, then lighting the tent on fire. The pathetic structure went up in flames almost instantly as Dream smirked in the background.

Then he had to destroy the portal that everyone used to find Tommy. That took significantly more work, even with his enchanted diamond pickaxes. Still when he broke the first block and the purple portal flickered out he wasn’t close to finished. He had to make sure nothing was left behind. He made sure to destroy it entirely, not leaving a single block behind.

He made quick work of anything left in the pitiful camp that would leave a trace that anyone had lived there at all before hopping to the nether portal that led to the snowy biome, which he promptly destroyed on the other side. He headed to the cabin, a little worn from all the destroying he had done but traversed the nether easily, ending up back at the snowy biome with little more than an hour and a half total. Of course he was delayed a little more when he destroyed the remaining nether portal. He did have another tucked away that would bring him close to L’Manburg, but Tommy didn’t know that.

He walked into the cabin and smiled when he saw Tommy sound asleep, curled up in a blanket. He looked so small, so breakable. Dream ruffled his hair playfully and laughed to himself. Dream knew exactly how to get to L’Manburg, but Tommy didn’t. No one else knew where Tommy was either. Good. Tommy was at Dreams mercy, which he had none of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, this is a canon divergence so it isn't effected by whatever happens in the SMP


	3. Friends To Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y'all like fluff? Well you're gonna have to wait for it. But do have some sleepybois while you wait.

Ghostbur was confused. Very confused. He looked at where the portal from the nether to Tommy’s place usually was, but nothing was there. Was it moved? No Tommy didn’t have a diamond pickaxe or any obsidian.

Did he take a wrong turn? He’s pretty sure he didn’t, but he could be mistaken. He’d just have to float there in the overworld. It would take longer, sure, but he knew where Tommy’s tent was. In the nether everything looked the same so he wouldn’t even notice if he was lost.

He floated back to L’Manburg in confusion. When he arrived Tubbo ran up to him hopefully. “Did you get the compass?” He asked, which was the reason Ghostbur had gone there in the first place, to get Tubbo a new compass that pointed to Tommy after his exploded in a charged creeper attack.

Ghostbur shook his head and Tubbo frowned. “I think I took a wrong turn,” he told Tubbo wistfully. “The portal wasn’t where I thought it would be.”

Now Tubbo looked confused. “You got lost? You’ve been there a thousand times. You don’t usually get lost, do you?”

Ghostbur shook his head. “No, but the nether looks the same to me. Again, I probably just took a wrong turn.” He reassured, but it didn’t sit right with either of them. Wilbur wasn’t one to just get lost like that. “I’ll just float over on the mainland. Even if they moved the portal for some reason Tommy should still be there.” Tubbo looked down guilty. “I’ll talk to him, I promise.”

“I know it’s just…” Tubbo sighed “I don’t know what happened with the invites. I thought he hated me, and he must hate me now. I need to make it up to him, I just don’t know how. Things have been keeping us apart to the point it’s almost, I don’t know, suspicious? Look, I fucked up with this banishing, I know that. But I just want my Tommy back. I just want him to be ok.” The young leader looked like he was about to cry as he ranted. “I need to talk to Dream. Maybe… Maybe he’ll let Tommy back.”

“I’m sure we can do something about his banishment soon enough, but we need to be patient.” Ghostbur warned “you know how Dream can get.” Tubbo nodded, but he looked a little despondent. Ghostbur instinctively tried to place a hand on his shoulder, but it phased right through. “Look, Tommy's a tough kid. He’ll be fine. I’ll go keep him company until he can come back home.” He reassured. Tubbo looked a little happier but still upset as Ghostbur floated away. He’d definitely need to talk to dream, but he knew how manipulative Dream could be. He wasn’t going to let Tommy back without getting something in return. 

He floated to Tommy’s camp as he thought about what he could possibly offer Dream when he suddenly froze in confusion. He looked around, recognizing the area as where Tommy’s camp was, but seeing no sign that Tommy had ever lived there.

There was no tent, no nether portal, no hot girl, nothing. The trees looked the same as before, the ground was unchanged, and the place looked almost completely untouched by humans. But Ghostbur knows Tommy lived there. He was confident now that he didn’t just take a wrong turn in the nether either, the portal just disappeared. But why? Tommy wouldn’t just vanish for no reason, and even if he wanted to Dream wouldn’t let him. Also, Tommy wasn’t going to be so thorough and destroy every sign he was there in the first place. Ghostbur already knew this place, as did Dream, Techno, Ranboo, and so many other people it just didn’t make sense. It didn’t fit Tommy’s personality either, even if he was acting more erratic these days. 

Ghostbur quickly made his way back to L’Manburg as worry burrowed deeper and deeper. When he finally arrived Tubbo was near the entrance, building something that L’Manburg didn’t really need but it gave him an excuse to wait by the entrance for news of Tommy. Though of course when he saw Ghostbur was back already he frowned.

“You’re back already?” He asked, as it had been just under two hours and usual Ghostbur stayed there with Tommy for a while. Tubbo wouldn’t have been surprised if he was gone the entire day.

“I rushed home,” Ghostbur admitted. Tubbo nodded, but still looked confused. Ghostbur continued “Tommy wasn’t there. His stuff was gone, and so was the portal.”

“What?” Tubbo yelled in surprise as his eyes went wide with fear. “Is he dead? Did he vanish? What do you mean he’s gone?” He started to panic, getting the attention of onlookers nearby. Ghostbur tried to calm him, but he was worried himself.

“Dream probably knows where Tommy is, we can just ask him.” Ghostbur reassured, which actually seemed to work.

“Of course, Dream would surely know where Tommy is. He’s been by his side constantly, he must know.” Tubbo said, trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

“We’ll just ask him when he comes back to L’Manburg.” Ghostbur reassured, though he was nervous as well. They’d asked Dream when he came back, he probably had the answer. Still, something seemed off. So many things didn’t make sense, Ghostbur was starting to get suspicious. He let out a sigh as he wished he could remember what happened before he died, maybe it would help. Still he couldn’t recall anything, the gaps in his memories taunting him like wide chasms in the ground he couldn’t see the end of.

It only took a few hours for Dream to come to L’Manburg, which was both odd and nerve racking. Dream came to L’Manburg twice a week or so, so him happening to arrive was unexpected but Tubbo was getting impatient and nervous so maybe it was a good thing.

Dream seemed happy, but it was hard to tell. He had a small bag on his shoulder and his footsteps were light so he didn’t seem too upset at least. Ghostbur floated up to him before anyone else noticed he was there and immediately asked “Hey have you seen Tommy recently?”

Dream’s expression was hidden by his mask, but he tilted his head and his mood seemed to drop slightly. “Why? Has he come around here recently?” Dream asked, slightly accusatory.

Ghostbur shook his head and opened his mouth to explain but right at that moment Tubbo saw the two of them and started to yell. “Hey Dream!” He shouted from a distance and started rushing over. Both men looked over at him and paused the conversation until he arrived, painting and out of breath.

“Are you alright?” Dream aske, unconcerned. Tubbo nodded as he caught his breath, then Dream turned back to Ghostbur. “What happened while I was away to make you so concerned about Tommy?”

“We can’t find him. He’s not at his camp, Ghostbur checked.” Tubbo finally explained.

Dream thought for a second before responding “well after the party he asked to be left alone for a few days. He was so upset I agreed.” He hummed in thought “perhaps he moved somewhere else for a few days where no one would find him. It might be good to give him space until he decides to come back.” Dream told them, though he was rubbing his chin in thought and seemed a little unsure.

“Ok, but when I went there all of his things were gone. It looked like no one had ever lived there.” Ghostbur told him.

Dream tilted his head in confusion and brought his hand to the mouth of his mask. “You mean his tent is gone?” He asked with a slightly high pitched voice.

“His tent, hot girl, the nether portal-” Ghostbur said, but was cut off by Dream.

“The nether portal is gone?” He said in surprise as he looked between Ghostbur and Tubbo. “It’s just gone?” Ghostbur nodded, and Dream started to mumble. “How would he posible move it?” He mumbled to himself before clearing his throat and looking at the other two. “Alright, after I get my potions sorted I’ll go investigate his camp and if I don’t see him by tomorrow I’ll start searching.” 

The other two nodded. “Of course.” Tubbo said “what are you making?” He asked.

“Oh a few different things. I’m really just delivering some ingredients.” Dream said, opening the bag for the other two to look inside. His bag held a few bottles of water, some sugar, blaze powder, nether wart, mushrooms and a spider eye. “It won’t take too long.” He reassured.

“Thank you Dream.” Tubbo said. “We’ll keep an eye out for him here.”

Suddenly Dream turned seriously. “Well if you do see him I suggest you do two things. One, scare him away from L’Manburg. Two,” Dream chuckled “Don’t tell me.” He said as he wandered to a potion stand, leaving Tubbo and Ghostbur alone with only their worry.


	4. Liars To Mislead

Dream was not one to hum or skip or show any displays of whimsy. However he was certainly smiling under his mask and his steps were a little lighter than normal. He picked up some pork and bread, and had two completed potions tucked away as well, a swiftness potion and a weakness potion.

The enchantments on his armor held up so when he switched from the nether to the snowy biome the temperature change didn’t effect him. The snow filtered on his face but melted quickly as he headed to the small cabin with glowing fires. 

He opened the door to find Tommy sitting on the couch by the fire. The 16 year old looked up at him and smiled. “Hey Dream.” He greeted quietly.

Dream smiled under his mask. “I’ve brought you some food.” He said as he took out the pork and bread. 

Tommy’s face immediately brightened up. He shot up quickly from the couch to grab the food. “Thank you” he mumbled before scarfing it all down.

“Eat slower Tommy, you’re not a pig.” Dream said semi-playfully, though he wasn’t surprised. He didn’t keep food in the cabin and Tommy only got fed when he gave him food.

“Well technically I’m half piglin so…” Tommy joked as he scarfed down the pork. For a second Dream wondered if that might be considered cannibalism but decided that trying to figure out the genetics of it all was very much not worth him time.

“Well last time I checked piglins can still choke so slow down.” HE scolded, pulling the bread away before Tommy could take a bite. Tommy frowned, but didn’t say anything when Dream tucked it back in his inventory.

“Has anyone noticed I’m gone yet?” Tommy asked cheerfully. Despite his excitement Dream had to force himself into a serious expression and demeanor.

“Tommy it’s barely been two days, you have to be patient.” Dream advised. Of course they had in fact noticed, it didn’t even take a full day. But Tommy didn’t need to know that.

Still Tommy seemed upset by this as he frowned. “Well Ghostbur would at least notice me. Unless he just thought I went on a vacation again.” Tommy chuckled humorously.

This was perfect for Dream. He finally brought up Ghostbur, which Dream was just waiting for. Still he had to play the part. He cocked his head sideways in confusion and frowned. “Ghostbur? Do you mean Wilbur?” He asked.

Tommy looked up at him in confusion. “Well yes? Since he’s died we’ve just called him Ghostbur.” He laughed nervously “why am I telling you this? You call him Ghostbur too.”

Dream slouched and put on his best facade of exhaustion. “Oh no, not this again.” He mumbled quietly, but loud enough for Tommy to hear.

“Not what? Dream what’s going on?” Tommy asked, panicking slightly. 

Dream smiled in a poor attempt to be reassuring. “Don’t worry about it. I know his death was hard on you and you’re just trying to cope. You just need some sleep.” Dream said as he started gently pushing Tommy towards his bedroom. Tommy however wasn’t willing to let it go and quickly wiggled out of Dream’s gasp.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute. What are you talking about? What is going on?” Tommy asked in confusion.

Dream lowered his voice gently “Tommy, Wilbur is dead. You do know that right?” He spoke as if he was talking to a frightened animal, leaving Tommy even more confused.

“Of course he’s dead! I’m not disputing that. I’m talking about Ghostbur, Wilbur’s ghost.” Tommy said nervously.

Dream tutted “you need to lie down. Ghosts don’t exist Tommy.”

Tommy looked at him baffled. “What? You’ve talked to Ghostbur before! I’ve seen you talk to him!” He yelled.

That was true, he’d actually talked to Ghostbur earlier that day. Still, Tommy couldn’t know that. “Tommy, that’s enough.” He scolded, grabbing the boy roughly. “I’m trying to help you. These delusions are getting worse.”

Tommy froze as his eyes went wide. “Delusions? What are you talking about? I saw Ghostbur two days ago!” He yelled as he tried to pull away. Dream only tightened his grip, painfully digging his nails into Tommy’s arm.

“Well at least you're not actively hallucinating.” Dream said, which seemed to enrage Tommy even more.

“Let me go!” Tommy yelled, before trying to shove Dream. He realized his mistake as soon as his hand made contact with Dream’s shoulder but didn’t have time to rue his mistake when Dream picked him up and tossed him across the room. He hit the wall with a whimper of pain before falling to the ground.

“I’m sorry” He mumbled quickly as he tried to sit up, his body throbbing with a dull pain.

Dream stood over him menacing, his mask covering his face. “I’m trying to help you Tommy!” He yelled “why do you always hurt people when they try to help!”

“I’m sorry I’m sorry.” Tommy apologized again, lacking any of the anger he had before. Still Dream wasn’t done.

“If you could think before you act or lash out you wouldn’t even be here!”

“I know I know” Tommy whimpered, looking down at the ground as he started to shake.

“I need to leave. I can’t be here with you right now.” Dream spat, heading to the door.

“Please don’t leave!” Tommy begged, but Dream ignored him as he stormed out into the wilderness, leaving Tommy alone in the house.

Of course Dream didn’t go far, he merely turned behind a hill so Tommy couldn’t see him before he slipped into his secret base in said hill. He found the hidden door and opened it with ease before walking in and sitting down on a log and peeling off his armour.

His hideout wasn’t big, but he didn’t need much. It had a few chests of weapons, armour, and food. Their was some basic furniture in the room made from wood. Not too comfortable but not too painful either. Despite it being in the middle of a snowy tundra the hideout was kept lit and warm by the nether portal in the corner.

He started brewing some mushroom stew and hummed as he worked. Tommy lashing out was expected, and Dream wasn’t even angry. In fact it’s what he wanted, an excuse to punish Tommy.

He’d let him stew in isolation for a few hours before returning. It was too cold for him to run away, so he was stuck. The isolation was Dream’s best tool right now, which he would use generously

Of course it wasn’t his only tool, he thought as he poured half of his potion of weakness into the soup before stirring, the glowing liquid blending in perfectly unseen. Tommy was going to listen to him. The faster he learned that the better it would be for him.

  
  



	5. Memories To Doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I rewrote the first chapter so Dream didn't actually make the house, he just found it. I hope you enjoy. Also Sleepybois is canon here.

Tommy was hungry, hurt, and confused. He was so, so confused. He felt sick to his stomach but didn’t want to puke. He found a bottle of water in the cabinet and downed it, which made him feel a little better but not by much.

He started passing the living room as he thought. About what was going on, and what he did. Why did he push Dream? He was being rough, sure, but Tommy shouldn’t have retaliated like that. He should have expected that reaction. Frankly Dream was being rather tame by just leaving after he was attacked in his own home, but Tommy was still confused.

Ghostbur was real right? Everyone had talked to him, interacted with him, other people had seen him. Sure, he’d hallucinated before, seeing Tubbo when no one else could, but that was different. People said they couldn’t see Tubbo, they told him he wasn’t there. People actively interacted with Ghostbur, Dream included. He couldn’t have just imagined that. Could he?

Tommy shook his head. No, he couldn't. He pulled the compass out of his pocket. The needle bobbed gently, not moving much. Tubbo must have been far away if there were such small changes. 

A pang of loneliness hit him, but the compass confirmed one thing; Ghostbur existed. Ghostbur gave him that compass. 

But that left him even more confused. Why did Dream lie? It wasn’t even a believable lie, Ghostbur was a complete person who interacted with people and played a big role in his life. It would be like Dream saying Tubbo didn’t exist. It just didn’t make sense.

Still, it wouldn’t be good to bring it up to Dream when he came back. Perhaps Dream would say he was joking? Or perhaps there was a misunderstanding and Dream would clarify things when he got back.

When would Dream get back? Surely he wouldn’t just leave Tommy there right? Would he?

Tommy shook his head as he paced. Dream would return, and Tommy would apologize. He’d just wait for that to happen.

Though as the hours passed and he stewed in his guilt he realized there actually wasn’t a lot to do. Clearly Dream hadn't expected any guest for a while, as the place looked rather bare. There weren’t any books, no potions stands, and while there were crafting tables and a furnace there weren’t any raw materials to make things out of. Nothing Tommy could create or brew to keep his mind off his guilt and hunger.

Hours past with him spiralling further and further, tears dripping down his face then drying before he could wipe them off. Then finally the creaky door swung open as Dream walked into the house. 

Tommy jumped up from the couch and practically dove into Dream’s arms. “Dream! I’m so sorry!” He yelled as he buried himself into Dream's chest.

Dream let out a chuckle as he brushed his fingers through Tommy’s hair. This reaction was better than expected. “I’m here Tommy.” He said softly.

Tommy held him for a few seconds before pulling away, showing Dream the tear tracks on his face. Dream smiled under his mask. “I’ve bought you some bread.” He said as he pulled out the loaf from earlier. Tommy’s eyes went wide as Dream handed it over. “You can have it” 

Tommy bit into the cold bread and ate quickly, but not as quickly as he ate the pork from earlier. He didn’t want to risk it being taken away again. When he finally finished he noticed Dream was staring.

“You seem to be doing better” Dream started “But we’ll have to talk about all this later. Your delusions are getting worse, and you tried to attack me when I questioned them.”

Despite what Tommy told himself earlier, about not bringing up Ghostbur he had to say something. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on but Ghostbur isn’t fake!” He said, sounding confused.

Dream looked at him pityingly. “I think you need some rest. You’re clearly upset and not thinking clearly. We can talk about it in the morning. It’s getting late.” Dream said as he escorted Tommy to his room.

Tommy didn’t resist, but he did pull out his compass. “Look! Wilbur gave me this! This isn’t fake!” He yelled as he waved the compass around. Dream looked at him funny, but didn’t say anything.

“You should get some sleep Tommy. It’ll do us both some good.” He said softly as he pushed Tommy gently into his room.

Tommy laid on his bed, but he was in no mood to sleep. His leg started to bounce as he forced himself to lay down, and his mind raced. What was going on? Why was Dream denying Ghostbur existed? He wasn’t even being cruel about it. Why was Dream so insistent that he was delusional?

He couldn’t be delusional though, nor hallucinating. The cold metal compass with ‘your Tubbo’ engraved proved that. So what was going on?

He heard Dream’s soft steps head up the stairs to his own room. He looked out the window and saw the sun was starting to set, with flurries of snow passing by at incredible speeds. It was utterly unwelcoming outside, and Tommy knew that. Still, he had to do something. His eyes followed the needle of the compass. It’s been so long since he’d seen Tubbo. He missed Tubbo. 

Tubbo would confirm Ghostbur is real. Tommy might not have been allowed in L’Manburg, but Tubbo didn’t spend every second of every day there. He could simply catch him outside.

Though, Tubbo did destroy his compass. And he never visited. And he didn’t even notice he was gone. Perhaps he wouldn’t want to see Tommy at all.

Tommy looked out the window at the snow and his resolve hardened. At the very least he deserved answers. He deserved to know that Ghostbur was real, and he deserved to know why Tubbo would throw away the compass. 

He didn’t have any clothes suited for the freezing temperatures outside, but he did have a hoodie that would offer some protection. He wouldn’t have to be in the cold too long anyway, there was a nether portal he’d travel through so the cold wouldn’t be an issue.

He let out a sigh. He’d wait an hour and then leave. He wasn’t worried about mobs, he could outrun them easily. 

He just hoped Dream would forgive him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I rewrote the first chapter so Dream didn't actually make the house, he just found it, cause apparently Dream can't build shit. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Also Sleepybois is canon here.


	6. Compass to Lead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bitchin' holiday everyone!

Tommy said he’d wait an hour, but even that was quite the task for the over excited teenager. He was twitchy and nervous, despite being quite certain that Dream was asleep.

Finally when it was fully dark outside Tommy decided he’d waited long enough. He zipped up his hoodie and flung the old wooden door open, where he was immediately hit by a wave of blistering cold. He let the wind slam the door closed as he shivered, heading out, compass in hand.

The nether portal wasn’t far, just past the hill. He ignored the narrow needle of the compass, knowing he’d have to travel through the nether before it would be useful.

He turned past the nearest hill, expecting to see the comforting light of a glowing nether portal, but froze. Nothing was there. Was this the wrong hill? He walked around it, shivering with each step. He saw a frozen lake, but no portal. There was another hill nearby, but there was nothing beside it. Was that where it was?

Tommy figured he should have probably gone back to Dream’s cottage but he was determined. It had to be around somewhere, he knew.

He ducked past another hill as he was starting to panic. The bitter wind was burning his face. The snow was burrowing itself into Tommy’s shoes and soaked his socks. He realized he messed up. He didn’t know where the portal was, and he was stuck in the dark and cold night with no shelter. 

He needed to get back to the cabin. Where was the cabin? The snow was falling quickly and soaking his jacket. He started trudging back, following his shallow footprints in the snow. 

However he quickly realized that wouldn’t work. The raging storm covered them in darkness and snow. Any tracks that were left behind were long gone. Tommy was officially stranded.

Worse, he heard the loud groan of a nearby zombie. He was starting to realize how screwed he was, and that this was a terrible decision. He shrugged as he started to shiver. It’s not like he was known for making good ones.

He lifted the compass close up to his face. The metal was so cold it felt like his hand was burning, but he didn’t let go, he refused. It was too dark to see any details, and the red needle was barely visible. His finger slid over the etching of ‘Your Tubbo,’ which was invisible in the storm. He clutched the compass tighter, his eyes glued on the red.

The zombie was getting louder behind him and Tommy realized he needed to do something. No matter what, he couldn’t stay in the snow. He looked down at the compass and knew what he was going to do; He’d never made a good decision in his life, and wasn’t going to start now. He took a breath, and ran in the direction of the needle. He was going to find Tubbo, or die trying.

Dream woke up shivering. He immediately sat up, realizing something was wrong. It shouldn’t have gotten cold enough to wake him in the cabin, and Dream wasn’t an easy person to wake up anyway.

He grabbed his enchanted chestplate and boots and slipped them on, not having time to dawn full armour. He ran out of his room to check on Tommy, but froze when he got in the living room. The door was opened and flailing around in the wind.

He let out a slew of curses as he ran out into the cold. He’s not 100% certain what was going on but figured that Tommy fled. He didn’t know why and was too angry to figure it out. He really wanted to leave Tommy to the mercy of the zombies and the cold of the night but was rather certain that would kill him. As interesting as watching the brat get what he deserved would be he would be no used to Dream dead, at least not yet. If he was going to die Dream would control when, how, and why, not Tommy or the monsters of the night.

Tommy was stumbling through the snow, his legs and arms going numb as he forced himself forward. He was pretty sure there was a skeleton shooting at him, but he couldn’t see a thing. It all looked blurry to him.

The soft twack of a bow was heard, and an arrow appeared in front of him. He tried to run faster, but the wind and pushed back against his efforts. The skeleton let another arrow fly and Tommy let out a scream when it pierced his shoulder. 

Warm blood spilled into the snow as Tommy cussed quietly. This was a stupid idea, he couldn’t exactly outrun a projectile. Another arrow hit the ground next to him as he decided to make another very stupid desision. Turning to where the arrow came from he saw where the skeleton with greyish-beige bones stood, holding a dark wooden bow. Mentally saying ‘fuck it’ he ran straight to the skelleton.

The wind pushed on him, showing him closer to the adversary. He lodged another arrow but Tommy didn’t care as he ran forward, gripped his compass, and brought his closed fist down on his head.

Their was the sharp sound of his skull cracking as the compass made contact. Tommy grinned in pain as he delivered a straight punch. He let out a gasp as pain vibrated through his fingers. The skeleton stumbled back as he fired, missing Tommy but not by a lot. Tommy didn’t have time to be grateful as he brought the compass down on the skeleton's skill, the sharp vibrations making the pain in his hand worse. He bit back tears as he grabbed the skeleton's bow with his free hand and tried to tear it away. The skeleton held, but it kept him from notching another arrow as Tommy hit him over and over again, his hand going numb. 

Finally the skeleton went still, crumbling to the ground, his white bones blending into the snow. The only sign that he was ever there was an old wooden bow that fell beside him.

Tommy smirked as his vision blurred. He stumbled backwards and collapsed into the snow, a few feet away. He looked up at the storm, unable to see the sky as his eyes fluttered shut and unconsciousness finally claimed him.

That’s how Dream found him. Unconscious and half buried in the snow, his sleeve soaked in blood, and his hand swelling, holding the compass in a deadly grip.

Dream sighed. Him being unconscious made things easier, but it wasn’t a good sign. Besides, Dream was looking forward to physically dragging the child back. It would do some good to damage his pride.

Dream lifted him up easily. He went to throw Tommy over his back, but paused when he saw how tightly his hand was gripping the compass, even in unconsciousness. He smirked. Perhaps there was some good in this after all.

Tommy probably already had some broken fingers so Dream didn’t worry about breaking them further as he pried Tommy’s swollen fingers open, finally freeing the compass from his grasp.

It looked the same as when Tommy showed Dream earlier that night, but held a new dent. Dream wasn’t sure where that came from and didn’t particularly care as he dropped it unceremoniously in the snow. In a few hours it would be completely hidden.

Dream smirked at the thought as he roughly threw Tommy over his shoulders and headed back home. This would be far easier without that damned compass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bitchin' holiday everyone! 
> 
> Now, I have two different idea's where this story should go, and I'd love your opinion. I want to know if Tommy should loose his foot or not. fill out this google form [REMOVED] and if you have anything else to say, comment below. The poll will be closed once I start writing that chapter, so I suggjest you fill it out before new years, though I'll probably take requests after to.
> 
> I'd love to hear your opinion.


	7. Masks To Guilt

Tommy felt cold as he woke up. He shivered, and tried to wrap his arms around his bare torso, but winched at the pain. He blinked his tired eyes open only to see the ceiling of the wooden cabin. 

He was confused. How did he get back here? He racked his brain, but couldn’t remember anything after he fell in the snow. He lifted his hand up to see it was covered in bandages. He brought it down on his shoulder to see it was also covered in bandages.

He let out a groan as he sat up, the pain in his shoulder throbbing. He blinked as he looked around and realized he wasn’t in his room, he was in Dream’s. He’d never been in Dream’s room before but he knew it was his because it was the only other bedroom in the cabin, and the aforementioned masked man was standing in the corner, his arms crossed. Tommy couldn’t see under his mask, but he could tell the older man was glaring. Anger radiated off of him, and despite himself Dream couldn’t stop twitching in anger. Dream was furious. Tommy was terrified.

“What were you doing out there?” Dream said in an even voice that let anger drip out. Tommy gulpt as he thought of an excuse.

“I was looking for the nether portal. I got lost.” He admitted, fully prepared to deal with Dream’s wrath.

Instead of yelling Dream tilted his head and hummed. “I moved it. There was an issue where nether mobs kept wandering into the overworld. I don’t care about you getting lost, I’m wondering why you were trying to run away. Is there something inadequate about this cabin? I thought you would find it an improvement from your pathetic tent.” Dream spat.

Tommy shrinked in on himself and looked down. “No, of course not. I couldn’t thank you enough for all I’ve done.” Tommy stuttered, unable to see the smirk under dreams mask. “It’s just… What you said about Ghostbur. I believe you, but I’ve seen him, I’ve talked to him, and so has everyone I know.” He sighed “I wanted to ask someone else about it. I wasn’t going to go to L’Manburg, I just wanted to find Tubbo outside and ask him about it.” Tommy admitted.

“So you left? In the middle of the night, without a single weapon or even a torch? I find it hard to believe even you’re that willfully stupid.” Dream insulted.

Tommy winced, but nodded. “I didn’t know where anything was.” He admitted. Of course Dream didn’t keep anything like that in the house, but Tommy didn’t know that. “Besides, I wasn’t expecting to be in the snow for long. I was going to go to the Nether then back to Logstedshire, before following my compass to Tubbo.” 

Suddenly Tommy’s eyes went wide. “My compass!” He yelled as he jumped to his feet. He went to rush out the door but Dream grabbed him roughly by his good shoulder.

“Tommy what is going on?” He demanded, digging his fingers into his flesh. The teenager flinched as he tried to pull away. His eyes looking around in panic.

“My compass! I dropped my compass!” Tommy yelled “I’m a horrible friend! How could I lose it?” He started to cry, fighting Dream’s grip.

“What compass!” Dream demanded.

Tommy froze, looking at Dream in shock. “My Tubbo. The compass that pointed to Tubbo. You’ve seen it! I swear you’ve seen it! I-” Tommy started getting choked up. “I lost it. I lost him.” He started to cry, tears dripping down his face.

Dream leveled his voice. “Tommy, listen to me and listen to me carefully.” He spoke in a low and slow tone, making sure Tommy heard every word. “You didn’t have a compass. You never had a compass.”

“No, no, no” Tommy started to mumble through his tears. He let out a sob as he pulled away again. This time Dream grabbed his arm and shoved him against the wall. Tommy let out a gasp of pain. “I had a compass!” He yelled in anger and fear. “It pointed to Tubbo.”

“Compasses don’t work that way Tommy.” Dream scolded.

“This one did!”

“Where did you get it?”

“Ghostbur gave it to me!” Tommy spat, before realizing his mistake. His eyes went wide as he tried to back track “I mean-” He stuttered, before Dream picked him up and shoved him against the wall.

“Ghostbur isn’t real!” Dream yelled.

“Yes he is!” Tommy shouted back, but he wasn’t certain himself.

Dream took a deep breath, calming himself. He spoke clearly and calmly. “Tommy, I am trying to help you.” Tommy gasped and tried to wiggle out of his grasp but Dream held firm, pushing down on his injured shoulders. He let out a gasp of pain as he bit back tears, but didn’t stop moving.

“He’s not fake! Ghostbur’s not fake!” He sobbed, clutching onto his memories that were becoming more and more questionable with each sob.

“Yes he is Tommy!” Dream said calmly. “I’ve already told you, these delusions are getting worse. You’re hurting yourself and others.”

“My compass was real!” Tommy yelled, remembering how it felt in his hand, how the cold metal burned, and the clang it made on the skeleton's skull. Maybe Ghostbur wasn’t real, but he had a compass.

Under his mask Dream smirked, knowing he was getting somewhere. Outwardly he let out a sigh. “Are you telling me that you had a compass that always pointed to Tubbo despite how every other compass works? And it was given to you by a ghost that no one else can see?” Dream sighed again. “I’m just trying to help.”

Tommy tried to pull away weakly, but he was starting to lose fight. “I had a compass.” He whined, tears dripping down his face.

“Tommy, there was no compass. You never had a compass. Ghostbur isn’t real.”

“I had a compass!”

“Tommy repeat after me.” Dream commanded “There is no compass, there is no Ghostbur. There never was.”

“No!”

“There is no compass, there is no Ghostbur. There never was, just repeat after me Tommy.” Dream commanded softly, holding the squirming teen firmly.

“No!” Tommy yelled as he fought against Dream’s words, his mind in turmoil as his memories were abruptly shoved into question with no time to prepare.

“Ghostbur isn’t real, there is no compass, there never was. Just admit it Tommy.” Dream commanded as he held onto Tommy tightly.

He didn’t let go as Tommy flailed and yelled. Time passed slowly as Tommy tried to wrench himself from Dream’s grasp, the older man calmly and slowly repeating the phrase as he demanded Tommy say it himself. Tommy wanted to deny, wanted to fight against his words, but he was getting too tired to deny it.

Finally as the sun started to creep in the sky Tommy started to mumble. “There is no compass. Ghostbur isn’t real.” Tears were dripping down his eyes, amplifying the dark circles left from the exhaustion and stress.

“And there never was.” Dream prompted

“... There never was.” Tommy whispered, finishing the phrase.

Dream smiled as he let go of the young boy, who promptly slumped to the floor. He didn’t move or try to stand up, but Dream wasn’t bothered. Tommy always got back up.

He walked out of the room to the front door where he started fashioning a brand new lock so Tommy couldn’t try and run away again. 

He wasn’t convinced Tommy believed Ghostbur didn’t exist, or that he believed the compass wasn’t a thing either. In fact he was quite certain Tommy still believed they existed, at least partially. But still, he smiled. He got Tommy to admit it, to say it out loud.

He wasn’t finished with Tommy, no where close, but he smiled anyway. He smiled because today, he had won. This was the first battle, and he had won.

Win the battle, then win the war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got A LOT of responses to my poll (almost 70) and that's after I removed any extra votes (Yes I can tell.) It was pretty evenly cut, especially after I added the 'other' option to no's or yes's. (People who said he should only be injured or given a less sever amputation's went in the 'no' category while the person who went 'reluctant yes' is put in the yes category, same as the person who went "A whole ass arm sounds nice" P.s, I love your vibe but we ain't doing that) 
> 
> There was a clear winner, however I believe I have a solution that will make everyone happy. I'll announce it at chapter ten.


	8. Suspicions To Raise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone, 2021 will probably also be a dumpster fire like the year before, but lets hope it's not full of toxic waste this time.

“I’m going to L’Manburg today.” Dream announced as he hid the spiked soup from earlier behind a few bottles in the kitchen. Tommy would find it of course, but that was the point. It also wouldn’t be too obvious that it’s a trap.

The aforementioned young man was sitting in the living room, staring at the wall with sunken eyes. It had been a few days since the compass incident, and Tommy hadn’t done or said much since then. He was pretty sure Tommy hadn’t slept much since then either. It was bad for his mental health, which was good for Dream.

Still, Dream wasn’t a fool. He wasn’t going to give Tommy an opportunity to get himself together before delivering another blow. Usually people were told not to kick a man while they were down, but that only applied if you didn’t want to break them. Dream wanted Tommy broken, which was why he was setting out the trap.

Dream wandered out to the living room, smirking under his mask. “I’m going to keep the doors locked, alright? I don’t want you to hurt yourself.” He said, his voice dripping with fake sweetness.

Tommy nodded. “Okay.” He mumbled softly, not doing anything.

Dream frowned, hoping for some resistance. He knew Tommy still had some of it in him, and he was treating his resistance like he would treat an infection. You couldn’t just treat the skin level problem. You had to find all the infected flesh, dig it out and bring it to the surface. You had to cut it all away, or the infection would only grow. Sometimes you even had to cut off limbs to save the host. 

If any resistance was left in Tommy it would only fester and grow, causing problems in the future. It had to be torn out without mercy. Dream wasn’t at the point of cutting off limbs, but nothing was off the table to him. He wanted to break Tommy, and he wouldn’t be playing fair.

So Dream grabbed a bottle of water and poured it on the fireplace, putting the fire out. Tommy jumped up instinctively and started to sputter. “What the hell Dream?” He asked, nowhere close to his usual level of indignance, but it still crept into his voice. Dream smirked under his mask.

“I told you, I’m worried. You’ve been so… Reckless lately. Someone has to look after you if you won’t look after yourself.” Dream said sweetly. “I know how easy it would be for you to hurt yourself while I’m away.”

Tommy looked like he wanted to protest, but he bit his lip, glaring at Dream ever so slightly. This is why Dream couldn’t give him a break, couldn’t let him behave. Tommy was still as insolent as ever, just knocked down a peg.

“I’m only trying to help you Tommy.” Dream hummed as he gently brushed his fingers through his hair. “I’ll bring you some food when I return. Maybe something from Niki’s bakery.” Dream said, causing Tommy’s eyes to light up. Tommy ate last night, and it was already mid-morning. He must have been hungry, which was why Dream was so certain his trap would work. 

He said nothing else as he walked out the door and locked it behind him, wondering how things would be in L’Manburg when he arrived.

Though when he did arrive he quickly found the answer was ‘very badly’ as the town was in an uproar. 

Dream thought it would take a little longer than a week for people to start to worry about Tommy. He was mistaken, as by then everyone was full on panicking. Considering how complicated everyone's relationships and alliances were it was almost impressive how literally everyone was willing to put that aside temporarily to find the young boy.

Impressive, but bad for Dream. He walked into L’Manburg and was almost instantly approached by Bad, the kindly demon holding a leather bound book and dressed casually.

“Hey Dream!” He called, smiling but clearly nervous. His lip was twitching and it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Hello Bad, what are you doing here? You don’t usually hang around L’Manburg.” Dream asked, keeping his voice light even though he clearly knew the answer.

Bad shrugged “you know how it is. It’s been a week and no ones seen Tommy.” He chucked humorlessly. “Even if he’s trying to hide, someone should have seen something. We’re all getting worried.”

“I see…” Dream mumbled to himself. He thought Bad didn’t like Tommy. He even had one of the discs. Why would he be worried? Bad wasn’t the type of person to be ingenious about wanting someone safe, and wasn’t one for blackmail either.

“Actually, I have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind answering” Bad said “We’re all pretty sure you were the last to see him in Logstedshire, so we were wondering what you know or remember.” Dream started to get nervous. It was clear Bad didn’t suspect him, but this line of questioning was dangerous.

However Dream was nothing if he was not an actor. So he lifted his mask up just enough to show his mouth, and smiled. “Of course I’ll help. Though I’m quite certain Ghostbur was with him last.” Then he chuckled “I doubt he’ll be much help. Did you already talk to him?”

Bad nodded “like you said, not very helpful.” Dream nodded sympathetically as Bad continued. “Anyway, I just need to know what happened when you saw him last. It might give us a hint. Really, anything would be helpful.” He laughed again, and Dream took a closer look at the demon to see it was clear he was exhausted. He kept rubbing his bloodshot eyes, and he was slouching as well.

Dream rubbed his chin in thought. Bad assumed he was trying to remember but in reality he was trying to come up with a convincing lie. “Well after the party he was a bit despondent. I gave him my trident to try and cheer him up, but it didn’t seem to work. He was still pretty upset.” Dream paused “then the day before he disappeared he started acting far happier than before. I was happy then, but now I’m pretty sure he was being erratic. I should have put more thought into his behaviour.” Dream looked down and frowned.

“It’s not your fault Dream.” Bad comforted, causing Dream to smile slightly. It very much was his fault, but Bad didn’t need to know that.

“Ok.” Dream said softly before continuing. “He asked for five days alone. I said I’d give him three. He protested slightly but gave in pretty easily. After about a day I started to get suspicious, which is why I went to L’Manburg, to see if he visited. Then I was told that he had vanished and Logstedshire was completely deserted.” He sighed “I’ve been looking, but I haven’t found anything.”

Bad nodded sympathetically “He seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. We’re starting to plan Nether raids to see if we can find him there but…” Bad paused, looking resigned. “It would take a lot of planning and supplies for anyone to survive in the nether this long. Tommy didn’t have any of those things.” 

Dream nodded in agreement, while he was plotting and scheming. Them wasting time in the nether would be good. It would be impossible to use any of the traditional techniques of searching for missing people in such an environment as the nether, but he would have to hide his own portal.

“The only person we haven’t asked is Technoblade, mainly because no one knows where he is.” Bad informed.

Dream cocked his head. “Doesn’t Phil know where he is?” 

This earned him a grimace “Yes, but he’s not really in a position for us to ask.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, him and Tubbo are pretty bad. They haven’t slept, haven’t ate, and really haven’t done much besides worry. They’re both feverish, but Phil is far worse. He’s not even conscious most of the time, and Tubbo is pretty convinced if anything is found it’s going to be a dead body. Fundy, Eret, and Niki have been taking turns watching over then. They’re doing a little better but…” Bad shrugged. “Tubbo’s just in shock, but Philza’s gotten worse. It’s not worth asking, not yet. Not unless you think Techno might have something to do with it.”

Bad had just given Dream a very interesting choice. If he could force a wild goose chase that might dissolve into a full on war with the Blood God no one would even think about his being suspicious. Though if anyone thought to ask questions before a fight was started it would backfire onto him, and someone might connect the dots. No, it would be best to keep Techno out of it, at least for now.

“I doubt it.” He told Bad, who nodded, not suspecting a thing. “By the way, is Niki with Phil and Tubbo now, or is she at the bakery?” Dream’s presence most likely wouldn’t do him much good in L’Manburg, with how eager everyone was to find Tommy. He wasn’t convinced he could project an image of concern or worry for long enough to gather any information that could help. It would be best just to disappear for a few days at a time and report he found nothing. Though he did promise to get Tommy something from Niki’s bakery, and stopping at a bakery wouldn’t make anyone suspicious.

Bad nodded “She should be at the bakery today I think. Fundy is watching over them right now.” Dream thanked him for the information, before heading over to the bakery. It wasn‘t snowing, but the slight chill in the air made her take down the flowers that were usually in her windowsill. It made the place look drab and dreary, fitting for the mood that hung over L’Manburg.

Dream walked in without hesitation, his presence announced by a soft ring of the bell attached to the door. The bakery was empty, which was odd. Niki was behind the counter, the only other person in the store.

She turned to face him, looking surprised then smiling at him. “Hi Dream! Welcome, welcome, I wasn’t expecting anyone here for awhile.” She smiled, but didn’t look well. There were dark circles under her eyes, her pale skin was taking a greyish hue, and her blonde hair lacked its usual glossy texture and hung limply, the ends fraying.

“Are you open?” Dream asked, taking a look at her glass cabinets to see they were rather empty, though all the tables were filled with boxes of food.

“Of course, of course, I’ve just been a bit busy.” She chuckled “with everyone going to explore the nether I need to make sure they have enough food and water. Please excuse the mess.” Dream peered into one of the boxes to see what it held. Each one of them held four large bottles or water, a packet of dried kelp, dried berries, some melon slices, a bottle of honey, cooked salmon, and a cookie. They looked to be made for one person for a full day in the nether, plus a bit extra. There were too many boxes for Dream to easily count, meaning that either several people were going to the nether or they were planning on being there for a long time. Neither exactly boded well for him. 

“Is there anything in particular you’d like?” Niki asked sweetly. 

Dream thought for a second “Do you have any gingerbread cookies?” He asked. Dream didn’t really like any sweets himself, but he’d seen Tommy eating them before so he guessed Tommy would like them.

Niki laughed “Really? Those were Tommy’s favorite.” She smiled bittersweetly, confirming Dream’s theory. “How many would you like?”

“Just one.” Dream said, handing over the listed price. Niki smiled, lost in memories of the young teen as she completed the transaction.

It wasn’t till a few hours later, when Dream was long gone, did she realize how odd the transaction was. There was nothing weird in Dream’s behavior, but he’d never shopped at the bakery. He only ever prepared his own food, and it was never sweet or flavorful. Niki’s pastries were always very sweet, and Dream had refused anything she offered him, even when it was free.

Perhaps he was just trying to make Niki feel better, but that didn’t match his usual behavior either. 

Hmm. Weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone, 2021 will probably also be a dumpster fire like the year before, but lets hope it's not full of toxic waste this time.
> 
> Anyway, was anyone going to tell me that 'Take no L's' actually meant something? I thought taking the L of L'Manburg was supposed to de-English it because the L was added to make it more English. I thought it was a sign of Schlatt trying to strip away the culture.
> 
> BUT NO apparently 'taking L's' is actually a phrase that real humans use.


	9. Sights To Unsee

Everyone’s worry had thrown a wrench into Dream’s plan, but this could be managed. Plans never went perfectly, so one had to improvise. Dream was great with improvisation.

He waited a little before heading back home, giving Tommy a little more isolation. It would do him some bad, which would do Dream some good. When he finally did return the living room was cold and empty, but he heard a soft groaning from the kitchen. He took his time, lighting the fireplace, before going to check out the damage.

Of course when he actually saw Tommy sprawled out on the kitchen tile even he had to grimace. He realized he might have added a bit too much potion to the stew, at least for how small Tommy was. 

Tommy’s skin was unnaturally pale, but with feverish flush on his cheeks. His blue eyes were glossy and unfocused, his pink lips dry and cracked. He was shivering, but was clearly too weak to try and find somewhere warmer than the kitchen floor.

Dream was happy that he took the trap, but now he needed to be nice. He put on a facade of worry before rushing over to Tommy’s side. “Oh Tommy, what have you done.” He said in a voice full of faux concern.

“Dream” He whined softly, his hand weakly reaching up to him, before collapsing onto the floor with a quiet thud. “The soup, it...” He mumbled, before breaking into a coughing fit.

Dream scooped him up easily. “You weren’t supposed to drink that Tommy.” He scolded gently as he took him to the living room couch. As he set him down Tommy let out a soft groan before leaning over the edge and puking.

Dream jumped back in disgust and grimaced under his mask. He loathed having to clean that up, and quickly ran to fetch a bowl so it wouldn’t happen again.

Luckily Tommy didn’t puke in the few seconds Dream was gone, giving him an opportunity to prop the teen up and put the bowl in his lap. “I suggest if you throw up again you hit the bowl, or you’ll have to clean it up.” Dream warned.

Tommy nodded weakly, his eyes cast down as Dream grabbed cleaning supplies and got to work. While he scrubbed the vomit out of the carpet Tommy did little more than stare at the empty bowl and shiver.

Finally Dream was finished. He threw the dirty paper towels in a garbage bin before throwing a blanket over Tommy and poking the fire slightly. 

He sat himself on the other end of the couch, watching in silence. After a few minutes Tommy spoke up softly. “Did anyone notice I was gone?” He asked, a slim bit of home in his voice.

Dream had already prepared an answer. “I’m sorry Tommy” he told the boy, false regret in his voice.

Tommy already looked small but under Dreams words he seemed to get even smaller. “Oh” he whispered, his voice full of heartbreak.

“I did get you something from Niki’s bakery.” Dream smiled “A gingerbread cookie.” He passed the wrapped cookie to Tommy, who took it into his shaking hands. Still he made no move to take a bite.

“Thanks” he mumbled, though Dream wasn’t sure if he even knew what was going on. Hours passed and Tommy didn’t move at all. As the sun went down Dream started to get slightly worried.

“Let’s go Tommy, let's get you to sleep.” Dream said, practically picking him up. “You’ll feel better in the morning.” Tommy didn’t respond, hanging limply in Dream’s arms. He didn’t stir as Dream put him in his bed and threw the blankets haphazardly over his unconscious form. He left, but made sure Tommy’s bedroom door was locked before leaving.

Tommy might have looked still, but his mind was racing. No one had noticed him? He wasn’t expecting them to miss him, but it’s been a week. They should have at least noticed he was gone.

Tommy curled in on himself as he started crying. He missed them, missed them a lot. He’d give anything to see Tubbo again, to apologize, to tell his practically brother he loved him. Even if it was just a minute, he wanted to see Tubbo.

It was cold in the cabin, even under all the blankets. He shivered, but didn’t try to fall asleep. Instead he stared at the wall and tried to remember some of the happier days, before he was banished.

Although as they replayed in his head Tommy slowly became less and less sure if he could trust them. So many of them were tainted by Ghostbur, his presence becoming more and more around when Tommy was alone or upset. He didn’t want to believe that Ghostbur was just a hallucination, a facade of his dead brother made to cope with everything that he’d gone through, but it made sense. After all, Schlatt wasn’t a ghost. 

The unease made it impossible for Tommy to get to sleep. He hadn’t slept much the past fews days, and the hunger in his stomach couldn’t even distract him. He still had Niki’s pastry, but it had crumbled and despite his hunger the mere thought of food had left him nauseous. 

His vision blurred as the minutes ticked by into hours, creeping by at a snail's pace. He kept rubbing his eyes, not even certain if he was trying to get to sleep or stay awake.

As the sun rose in the sky he rubbed his eyes one last time, took his hands away from his face, and froze at the sight before him.

It was Tubbo, but not. He was wearing his suit, from when he worked with Schlatt, something he’d burned long ago. He was slouched, limp and hanging like a rag doll, half of his body burned and scarred. He looked exactly like he did when he died, when Technoblade hit him with a firework.

Tommy was frozen. He knew Tubbo wasn’t there, he couldn’t be. He was hallucinating his best friend's dead body. His heart raced as blood rushed to his head. He gripped his blanket tightly, too scared to move.

Finally the hallucination looked up at him with dead and hollow eyes, and reached a burnt hand out to Tommy.

Tommy screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway who's gonna loose a canon life today? It wont be Tubbo or Tommy because their relationship arc is incomplete. My bet is Fundy. Maybe Ranboo, but I don't think he's pissed anyone off enough to be targeted, but if someone found that notebook... It might not end well for our resident enderman.


	10. Minds To Loose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poll results in notes, plus some more info

Dream woke up suddenly to the sound of a blood curdling scream. He jumped out of his bed as he mumbled courses under his breath. If Tommy was just having a nightmare he was going to kill him.

He unceremoniously pushed Tommy’s door open, expecting to see him asleep and laying in bed. Instead Tommy was pushed up against the wall, clutching a blanket, shivering, and staring at the corner of the room.

“I’m sorry, Im sorry, Tubbo I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop him. Please, I miss you. Tubbo I’m so sorry.” Tommy sobbed, not tearing his eyes away from the empty corner.

Dream went a little pale. So Tommy was actually hallucinating now. He didn’t plan for that, but he could work with it.

Tommy turned towards Dream, looking utterly terrified. “Dream” he sobbed “please, please help. He’s not here. Tubbo’s not here. He’s hurting, he needs help. Stop Techno, Techno’s going to hurt him. Please!” Tommy rambled through tears. He seemed to know Tubbo wasn’t real, but was panicking anyway.

Dream didn’t really know what to do, so he just moved in front of Tommy, blocking off the corner. He didn’t expect much but within seconds Tommy dove into his arms, grabbing him tightly and sobbing.

“Tubbo isn’t here Tommy, he’s in L’Manburg. You’re hallucinating.” Dream stated plainly, holding Tommy loosely.

Tommy sobbed “I know, I know, but he’s hurt. He got hurt. I couldn’t help him, I couldn’t save him. Tubbo, he hates me. I’m so sorry. Tubbo!” He cried, burrowing his face into Dream’s shoulder.

“Ok, let’s get out of here.” He said, picking the sobbing kid up and taking him to the living room. The fire was still blazing, and it was warmer and better lit than the bedrooms. Dream was still uncertain so he placed Tommy on the couch to give him some space. He sobbed and sobbed, before finally dissolving into mere sniffles. After about thirty minutes he closed his eyes and finally fell unconscious, sleeping for the first time in over 24 hours.

While he was unconscious, Dream had started to scheme. What had caused these hallucinations? Was it a mere lack of sleep or lack of food? Or was it a side effect of the weakness potion? It could have been both, that seemed the most likely. Still, Tommy needed sleep and food. Dream could limit both of those, but preventing them completely wouldn’t do anyone any good. He could keep drugging Tommy with a weakness potion, but there was no guarantee it would have the same effect.

However Dream did know a concoction that would cause hallucinations, it just wasn’t easy to make. One part blindness potion and one part weakness. The issue was Dream didn’t know how to brew a blindness potion. He wasn’t even sure blindness potions could be brewed. Techno had shown him some once, but Techno was Techno, he could do whatever he wanted.

But if he had some suspicious stew and mixed a bit of weakness in it, it should have the same effect. Still, that was an issue for a different day. For now he had to make sure Tommy wouldn’t keel over, then he could focus on making him distrust his memory even more.

When Tommy did wake up Dream already had a small plate of chicken out for him and some milk. It would get the rest of the potion out of his system, and give him a little more strength. Not too much, but enough for him to function.

He ate his breakfast silently, his mind racing. Finally after finishing the chicken and downing the milk he looked up at Dream with sunken blue eyes that were starting to look grey. 

“I’ve gone crazy, haven’t I?” He asked, his voice sounding empty.

Dream nodded, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Yes, you have.” He paused “you don’t have to worry. I’m here. You can trust me Tommy. I’ll tell you what’s real and what’s not.” He said sweetly.

Tommy gently touched his hand. “Thank you” he whispered softly “am I hallucinating now?” He asked nervously.

“That depends. Do you see anyone, or anything besides the living room and the fire.” Tommy shook his head. “Then no, you’re not.”

“Thank you Dream.” 

Days passed, and Tommy seldom left Dream’s side. Dream was happy as Tommy seemed to like him now, but he was displeased by the clinginess. Still, Tommy trusted Dream more than he trusted himself. He asked Dream what was real and what was fake everytime the fire flickered oddly or a mod was seen in the window. Usually Dream told him it was real and he wasn’t imagining it, but one day that changed.

Tommy was sitting on the couch with Dream. He’d just given him another small meal, but Tommy didn’t seem to have much of an appetite. He hadn't been eating much since he hallucinated Tubbo, so Dream had started giving him less food. Even then Tommy seldom ate it all. That was fine, as a weakened Tommy was easy to manipulate and easy to control. When Tommy was comfortably under his thumb, completely under his control, then he’d feed him properly. For now he just needed Tommy to be weak.

Still, that didn’t matter. As Tommy was poking the food he suddenly froze, going still. “Dream, Dream look.” He whispered softly, his eyes glued to a spot by the fire.

Dream raised his hand lazily. “No one’s there Tommy.” He said confidently “what do you see?”

Tommy started to shake “Wilbur, I see Wilbur.” His voice quivered “He’s wearing his uniform, but no armour, never armour.” He started to sob weakly, his eyes wet. He looked terrified.

Dream grabbed him by his shoulder tightly. “He’s not there Tommy. Come on, lets go to your bedroom.” Tommy stood awkwardly, his gangly legs shaking as he walked backwards, guided by Dream, not daring to look away.

“At least you have started learning what’s delusion and what's real.” Dream said playfully, escorting a shaking Tommy to his bed. In reality he wanted to make him a little unsure of himself, a little more distrusting.

He was shaking with hollow eyes, darting around the room. Clearly he was pretty shaken up. “They’re getting worse.” Tommy mumbled to himself. Dream wasn’t even sure he knew he was in the room.

Still Dream sat beside him on the bed and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I’m going to help you Tommy. I’m going to go look for a cure.” Dream said bluntly, sounding confident.

Tommy looked at him, his eyes wet and full of confusion. “You’re leaving?” His voice cracked as he spoke. He looked so weak.

Dream smiled under his mask. “I won’t be gone long Tommy.” Tommy opened his mouth and looked like he was about to protest, but Dream continued. “Remember, I’m only doing this to help you.” 

Tommy closed his mouth and nodded. “Of course, of course.” He sighed “you're a good friend Dream. Thank you.” He spoke softly and looked down, not noticing Dream’s scheming smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So would you like to know the results of the poll? There were 72 responses, 55.6% Yes, 34.7% No, 9.7% other.
> 
> HOWEVER the poll was so close, I decided to do both. So yes, I am writing TWO different stories.
> 
> (Because apparently being asexual doesn't mean I can't be a masochist, it just means I have to get creative about it)
> 
> As you can see this is now part of a series. From chapters 1-9 they will be mostly the same, but afterwards there will be a complete split in storylines. In this one Tommy will keep his leg. In the other, Tommy will lose his leg.
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/28630827/chapters/70176858


	11. Doubts To Fester

Niki wouldn’t really consider herself a paranoid person, but she always had good instincts to tell when something was off. After several wars she could tell when people were acting weird, when they were keeping something secret, and when they were about to make a political move.

She tried not to make it any of her business, as politics was always a mess and she just wished to be left alone. She was fine with just running a bakery and a flower shop with her girlfriend, and staying out of whatever power struggles were happening at the top.

Though with the hunt for Tommy any plots or ambitions others had were put aside. For now, at least, none of that mattered. No matter who you were or where your alliances stood, everyone was looking for Tommy.

So when Dream came to L’Manburg and skipped over anyone who could possibly know anything about Tommy, or who he could report anything he found. Instead he walked into Niki’s and Puffy’s flower shop, lacking any of the nervousness or anxiety that everyone else had, Niki became suspicious.

Still, she greeted him with a smile, not allowing her suspicion to be shown. “Good to see you again Dream. How was the bread?” She asked sweetly.

Dream hummed uncaringly “It was good.” He looked around the florist, seemingly displeased. “Do you sell mushrooms here?”

Niki nodded. “Of course! Which type would you like?”

“Both.”

“Alright, and how many of each?”

“Half a stack.” Dream replied, causing Niki to pause for a second.

“That won’t be cheap.” She warned with a frown, wondering why he didn’t just request one or two and grow more himself.

“I can afford it” he said “and I’d also like some azure bluet as well.”

“Oh? What for?” Niki asked, noting the odd combination of ingredients.

“Just a bouquet for Fundy.” He said with a fake smile, hidden by his mask. “I’ll just need 16 of them.”

What an odd number for a bouquet, Niki though. Usually they were either twelve, or twenty, she’s never sold one with only 16. Still she prepared the mushrooms and flowers, wrapping them all in a white bouquet.

“Would you like some bowls?” Niki asked, causing Dream to freeze. Odd. “I mean for the mushroom soup.” She clarified quickly.

“No no, I have some at home.” He told her quickly. “How is the search for Tommy? How’s Phil?” He asked, quickly changing the subject.

Niki saw through this easily, but decided to go with it. Pressing the issue would get her nowhere, and would just make Dream suspicious. So she answered him “well we haven’t found much. The nether crew hasn't had much luck. They’ve found several abandon portals that don’t lead anywhere.” She paused “Phil, well, he’s getting better, a little less delerious, but he’s still feverish.”

“What happened to him? He’s not one to often get sick.” Dream asked as he counted his order.

Niki shrugged “well when Tommy went missing Phil was the first person to go looking, and he didn’t stop until he collapsed. Him and Tubbo. They went searching together and were only found by Fundy, passed out in a storm. Fundy, Eret and I had to drag them both back to L’Manburg. They were both sick but Phil managed to somehow get wounded, and the wound got infected.”

“So is Tubbo doing well?” Dream asked, though Niki was certain he didn’t care. 

“He’s doing quite well, all things considered. In fact he’s joined the overworld search for Tommy, though I sent him in a group with Fundy and Rambo.” She chuckled. “Really the only people consistently in L’Manburg is Bad and me, and we’re just trying to keep things running.” Niki thought for a second, before continuing “Bad really knows where everyone is and is keeping track of everywhere that’s been searched. If you need anyone specific you’d have to ask him about that. They’re sent out in parties of three, and usually one member of each group returns to the camp at night”

Dream shook his head. “No, I’m not looking for anyone. I will go talk to Bad, maybe I have something that could help him.”

Niki smiled as Dream left the flower shop, and as he passed by the windows. Once he was out of sight she finally frowned.

Looking behind the counter she found a book with recipes that contained flowers. There weren’t very many, so it didn’t take long to find what she was looking for, suspicious stew.

When azure bluet was added to suspicious stew it caused… Blindness? Hmm. Niki couldn’t think of any reason Dream would want to cause someone blindness. What if he only added half a flower, which was the amount he purchased anyway. That would just cause vision issues, seeing double and blurred vision. What would Dream do with that?

Maybe he was being honest. Maybe it was just a coincidence, and maybe those flowers were for Fundy.

Maybe, but unlikely.

Dream stayed in L’Manburg for two days. That would have been odd under any circumstance, but especially with Tommy missing and everyone else looking for him. Dream didn’t stick around one place for long, especially where other people were. No one else had noticed because others weren’t really around, but Niki had, and she kept her eye on him. He didn’t seem to have a purpose, and he seemed to be wasting time, filtering around without any goals.

Niki did catch him brewing, and saw the greyish blue potion he made, but she couldn’t tell what it was. She wasn’t good at identifying potions.

Still, Dream was being suspicious. Though whether he had anything to do with Tommy’s disappearance, or if he was just trying to make a power play while everyone was distracted, Niki wasn’t certain.

If this was merely a power play then Niki didn’t care, it would just be business as usual. If she brought attention to his behavior then the search for Tommy would be sidelined for a wild goose chase that L’Manburg wouldn’t win anyway.

But if it wasn’t? If he did have something to do with Tommy’s disappearance? Niki couldn’t let this go.

Dream left after two days in L’Manburg, outwardly not having done much. When he was finally gone and Fundy came back to L’Manburg to gather supplies for his group, Niki asked him how he enjoyed the flowers.

Fundy furrowed his red brow and squinted his black fox eyes. “Flowers? What flowers?” He asked in confusion.

Niki smiled “Don’t worry about it, I just got confused.” She said sweetly. Fundy looked at her oddly but didn’t say much else. As soon as he left Niki went to find Ghostbur.

“Hello Ghostbur.” She greeted, not certain how to feel about him still. She still felt confused when she saw him, but Ghostbur really didn't know that.

“Hello hello!” Ghostbur greeted her with a smile, his voice sounding echoey despite being outside. “How are you?”

“I’m doing well,” Niki lied. In reality she was quite nervous, but Ghostbur didn’t need to know that. “I just need a bit of a favor.”

Ghostbur smiled “Of course of course! Would you like some blue?” He offered sweetly.

Niki laughed and shook her head “No, I just need you to follow someone. You know Dream right?” Ghostbur nodded “When he comes back to L’Manburg I need you to follow where he goes.”

“I might not remember,” Ghostbur said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

“Don’t worry, I’ll remind you.” She said kindly, before looking stern. “But Ghostbur, you can’t let him see you. You can’t let him see you.” She warned.

Ghostbur smiled. “I can be stealthy.” 

Niki nodded, but she wasn’t sure. Still, she didn’t have a better plan. She’d just have to hope Ghostbur stayed true to his word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey can we talk about how bullshit a lot of these names are? Like I'm trying to write seriously angsty fanfic and I have to deal with names like Tubbo and Bad. I mean I can work with some of these names, Dream sounds cool without being too unrealistic, Tommy is a bit childish but viable, Phil and Niki are just normal names as well. I can work with those.
> 
> But then we got Ghostbur and Techno and shit like HOW do you expect people to take this seriously?
> 
> Anyway I'm very sick right now so if updates just randomly stop after this don't assume I've abandon the series, just assume I'm dead.


	12. Guilt To Fester

Dream wasn’t sure what to expect when he returned. He’d left Tommy with enough food and fuel for the fire that would last comfortably for three days, but not a lot of entertainment. He’d also taken some of the torches away, leaving the cabin quite dark, and he also made sure to lock all the doors. The windows could be opened, but were too small for even Tommy to escape through.

Of course he certainly wasn’t expecting the cabin to be completely dark, and for several windows to be either opened or broken.

Dream was already suspicious as he approached the seemingly abandoned cabin, glad that the lock was at least intact. He stepped inside carefully, noting the smell of blood. Quickly he lit a torch and looked around, and grimaced at the mess. Glass was littered on the floor, the wall was covered in dents, the charcoal from the fireplace had spilled onto the floor, and ripped clothes were tossed around carelessly. In all of these places there appears to be traces and flecks of blood, but not too much to get worried about.

What he was worried about was the fact that Tommy was nowhere to be seen. He had to be somewhere, Dream just didn’t know where. 

So he strained his ears to hear a quiet scratching coming from down the hall. Tiptoeing carefully he followed the sound to a small closet that had blood dying the wood. Carefully he opened the door with only the slightest bit of creaking.

Tommy was scratching at the wall, staring with bloodshot and sunken eyes. Dream could hear him mumbling softly, but wasn’t sure what he was saying. His hands were bloody and pale. Clearly he’d done a number on himself.

“Tommy, hey Tommy” Dream said softly, trying to get his attention and seeing how absorbed he was in his delusion.

Tommy’s eyes snapped to him, before attacking. Tommy pounced at Dream’s neck and tried to dig his nails into his flesh. It caught Dream off guard, but Tommy was weak and erratic. Dream wasted no time shoving Tommy roughly to the ground, despite his frantic and angry clawing.

“You killed Tubbo you bastard!” Tommy screached. Dream smirked, before pushing his palm at the base of his neck. Tommy gasped and choked, trying to tear the hand away that cut off his breathing. Despite his feverance Tommy was weak from his delusions and lack of sleep.

“Tommy, calm down.” Dream commanded calmly and firmly. Tommy of course didn’t understand. Getting impatient with the clawing Dream grabbed his arm and twisted it roughly. Tommy let out a cry of pain, inadvertently forcing Dream’s hand even further on his throat.

“Tommy, stop fighting.” Dream commanded again. Tommy was hacking violently, his lips turning a little blue. Still his free hand flailed, trying to hit Dream. A stray punch landed on his chin, causing Dream to let out a groan.

Tired of this Dream let Tommy’s hand go and brought it around Tommy’s neck, along with the other one. There was no point in dealing with this any longer when he could just force Tommy unconscious.

Tommy’s eyes went wide as he tried to push him away, but failed. His hands flailed violently as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He went limp under Dream’s choking, his thin body sprawled out on the floor. Dream held on for a few more seconds, before letting go, his thin neck already bruising.

Figuring it would be best to just get somewhere else Dream threw Tommy over his shoulder and took him back to his bedroom. Unsurprisingly, it was a mess as well. The walls were torn up and the blankets and pillows were thrown all over the room, but the mattress was intact and still had the sheet over it.

Unceremoniously Dream dropped Tommy on the bed as he started to come to. His bleary eyes blinked open, and he was quite certain the young teen didn’t get much sleep while he was away.

“What’s going on?” He mumbled as he woke up.

“You were hallucinating.” Dream replied.

Tommy looked at him confused “What did you say Techno?” Ah, so he was still hallucinating. At least he wasn’t attacking Dream.

“Techno isn’t here Tommy. No one else is here Tommy.” Dream spoke calmly, holding his hands down on Tommy’s shoulders.

“He’s right there?” Tommy mumbled in confusion.

“Tommy, tell me who you see.” Dream demanded calmly, his mask staring blankly at the teen.

“Tubbo, Wilbur, Niki, and you Techno. You won. Why are you holding me down? You won.” Whatever memory he was reliving Dream clearly wasn’t there.

“Tommy, close your eyes.” Dream demanded calmly. Tommy tilted his head in confusion, but kept his grey eyes wide open and staring. “Close your eyes” Dream demanded, a bit rougher this time. Tommy still didn’t close his eyes.

Deciding he needed to be a bit rougher Dream pressed his hand over Tommy’s eyes. Tommy let out a sound of surprise and struggled, but he couldn’t shake the hand over his eyes. 

“Tommy, stay calm.” Dream said, using his free hand to grab one of Tommy’s and brought it to his mask. “Do you recognize me?” 

Tommy went still and all color drained from his face. “Dream?” He whispered softly, the hand on the mask starting to shake.

“That’s right Tommy, it’s Dream, your friend Dream. Do you trust me?” Tommy nodded, as Dream pulled his hand away.

He looked around and blinked, still confused. “I’m-I’m in the pit. Why am I here? D-Dream, why can’t I see you?” He stuttered, panicking.

Dream pulled him up roughly by the shoulders, walking him out of the room. “I know, let's get out of the room. That might help. You're in your bedroom, we are leaving your bedroom.” Dream narrated as Tommy stumbled into the hall, guided by Dream.

“I’m so confused. Dream, where am I? Is anyone else here? This doesn’t feel like the pit.”

“You're not in the pit Tommy. We’re alone, we’re in the cabin. It’s snowing outside. The house is a mess. I’m going to sit you on the couch.” Dream guided Tommy around the mess to the mostly clean couch. He started putting torches back up and went to the kitchen, only to see most of the food he left was untouched.

Still, nothing had gotten rotten or turned so Dream prepared a small dish of bread and berry’s, worrying that meat would just turn his stomach.

Tommy looked around with wild eyes, clearly not taking in reality. “Tommy, I’m going to put something in your hands” Dream told him as he placed the plate in his lap. “It’s food Tommy, eating might help.” The blonde was wary, shaking slightly, but grabbed the bread and started nibbling.

A bit of color slowly returned to his face as his eyes became more focused. “I see you, and the room. It’s a bit shaky, but I think I’m back. I see you Dream, and only you.” Tommy told him. He looked thin, and clearly hadn't slept in awhile.

“Finish the berry’s Tommy.” Dream told him as he let out a sigh. After Tommy started to eat Dream spoke up again “they’ve noticed you’ve gone missing Tommy, but I don’t think you should return yet.”

Tommy let out a cough. “Wait, what? Why shouldn’t I return?” Tommy asked in a fearful voice.

In response Dream showed Tommy his arms that were red and scratched up. It didn’t actually hurt that much, but it must have looked worse to Tommy. “Oh my God” he whispered “I did that.”

“You did Tommy” Dream smiled under his mask. “Luckily I know how to deal with it Tommy. Of course you can return, if you think it’s best, but I was just worried. I was prepared to deal with your delusions, but if someone else was here they could have gotten hurt. Especially if they’re reluctant to hurt you.” He paused “after all, we know Tubbo would never lay a hand on you. If you attacked him when no one else was around you could do a lot of damage.”

All the color Tommy regained with his small meal had vanished “I could hurt Tubbo” He realized, his eyes wet.

“You could” Dream said “your delusions are getting worse, and more violent. I forgive you for attacking me, but would the others? Would Philza forgive you if you attacked Tubbo? Would Fundy forgive you if you attacked Niki?” He sighed “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt, including you. You should stay, you should let me help you.”

Tommy nodded “Your right” he admitted “I don’t want to hurt anyone.” 

Dream smiled under his mask “You must be tired, I’ll clean up your bed so you can get some rest. I’m sure these hallucinations will go away with a bit more care.” He told Tommy comforting, despite knowing that wasn’t the case.

He’d make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting to regret writing two different stories but I'm stubborn so fuck off.
> 
> Sorry this is late, my grandma was sick. Not covid, but it wasn't good. She'll probably be ok, but it's a struggle and she's getting worse so I didn't have much of a chance to update. Sorry, don't be mad :(


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HEY I DONE FUCKED UP LAST WEEK AND SWITCHED THE CHAPTERS SO NOW I"M FIXING MY MISTAKE SORRRY! You might want to re-read this.

“Come on Tommy, you need to eat.” Dream said sweetly, looking down at the wide eyes teen who had shown himself in the corner. He was hallucinating, obviously. He had started hallucinating more often and not with Dream feeding him the spiked soup.

In fact he held more of it in his hands, trying to coax Tommy to have some more. The pale kid was clearly stuck in some memory or delusion, and wasn’t helped by Dream’s calmness and his firm voice.

“Wilbur this is insane.” He said in a shaking voice, close to crying. “I don’t want to betray you. I wasn’t going to betray you! Please let Tubbo go!” He begged, to a non-existent Wilbur. Dream’s quite certain Wilbur had never kidnapped Tubbo while he was alive, but it hardly mattered.

“Tommy, it’s Dream, not Wilbur.” He informed Tommy “We should leave this room, that usually helps.” Dream said quietly before grabbing Tommy by the arm and yanking him up. Tommy let out a whimper and tried to pull away, but Dream held strong as he dragged him from the kitchen to the hallway, then the living room. Every Time they moved rooms Tommy looked around in confusion.

“Tommy, you’re alone with Dream. Listen to my voice.” Dream said calmly, sitting Tommy down on the couch.

“Dream?” Tommy said weakly, tired and shaking from the loss of sleep and whatever delusion he was stuck in. “Where am I?”

“You're in the cabin. It’s snowing outside. We’re the only two here.” Dream sighed “Whatever you’re seeing isn’t real. You can’t trust your eyes. You can only trust me.”

“I know” Tommy whispered “Is Wilbur here? Is Tubbo here?” He asked fearfully.

“No Tommy, only you and me.” He placed the bowl in his lap “I have some food. You should eat. It will make you feel better.” That wasn’t entirely false. At least temporarily it would stop the hallucinations and make Tommy feel calmer and more at ease, before returning full force.

This pattern repeated itself for a week. Twice a Day Dream managed to get Tommy to eat the soup, leaving him trapped in hallucinations and more and more convinced he couldn’t trust himself. Sometimes he couldn’t tell he was hallucinating. Often he could, and he cried out for Dream, begging for him to tell him what was truth and what was imagined. If Dream didn’t respond Tommy would start to panic, yelling and crying. Despite how annoying that could be Tommy was completely dependent on him now.

Of course, there were side effects. There were always side effects when it came to prolonged potion use, especially when used so continuously in such a short amount of time.

Tommy couldn’t eat much. These past few days he was barely even able to down the two meals of stew, and he didn’t have an appetite for it either. 

He was also losing color. His eyes lost their blue, taking more of a gray tone. His blonde hair had started turning white as well. His skin was also taking a sickly pallor, but that could have been from the lack of food or lack of sleep.

Of course, his emotions had also become more volatile as well, though if it was from the potions or from the stress of not knowing what was real and what was fake was anyone's guess. He could go from sobbing and begging for forgiveness, to downright attacking anyone around him. Of course that meant Dream, who could easily fend off the attacks and guilt him for it later.

By the end of the week he’d turned his attacks onto himself. He did this odd thing when he was enraged, he started to yell and shake, before scratching or choking himself until he got tired, came to his senses, or passed out. Even Dream had to admit it was a disturbing scene, and he watched to make sure Tommy didn’t hurt himself too badly, but it was effective. He always hurt himself far more than he had ever hurt Dream, and when he came to with self-inflicted scars or bruises Dream was quick to tell him how that could have been Tubbo he hurt instead. A thought which distressed Tommy greatly and made him seek comfort from Dream.

He was left weak, both physically and mentally. He was left sleep deprived and starved. But most importantly, he was completely dependent on Dream. He didn’t even trust himself anymore, and there was no one else for him to be reliant on. Dream was it. 

For Tommy Dream was truth, more than his own eyes. He trusted Dream more than his own senses, his own memories, and his own emotions.

Dream didn’t expect his methods to be this effective, but he wasn’t complaining. There was only one, small issue; He was out of azure bluet.

His plan was to wean Tommy off the drugged soup slowly. If someone had taken potions or a brew continuously like Tommy had and were just cut off cold turkey, it would have disastrous consequences, both physical and mental. Shaking, blindness, vomiting, violent hallucinations, seizures, and a load of other unsavory things. If he wanted to know specifics he’d just talk to Technoblade, who had gone through it all several times before.

But he didn’t want to know; He wanted to stop the effects before they happened, meaning he’d have to go back to L’Manburg.

This, of course, upset Tommy greatly. “Why do you have to leave Dream?” He asked meekly “can’t you stay here?”

Dream smirked under his mask “Tommy, I’ve already spent so much time here. You can handle yourself for a few hours. Besides, I won’t be too long, I’m just going to L’Manburg to get some supplies.” He said as he brushed his fingers through Tommy’s birch white hair.

“Can’t I come with you?” He begged, shaking ever so slightly.

Dream shook his head “You’re too weak to travel. Besides, I don’t want you to hurt anyone. Do you want to hurt anyone?” Tommy shook his head quickly, which made him dizzy and he had to sit down. He didn’t protest further.

When Dream left early the next morning he didn’t even bother locking the door behind him, content in knowing Tommy wouldn’t even have the strength to run away, even if he wanted to.


	14. Lies To Endure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all wanted more badass Niki

Niki looked anxiously at the happy floating Ghostbur, his emotions in exact contrast to her own. 

“Alright, do you understand the instructions I just gave you?” She asked nervously, twiddling her thumbs as she spoke.

Ghostbur smiled widely and nodded lazily “Uh-huh! I need to find Tommy.” 

Niki groaned in frustration. Really, she didn’t know what she expected from Ghostbur, but a girl can hope.

“Alright, show me your arms.” She told him firmly. Without hesitation Ghostbur extended both his arms, which were covered in a yellow knit sweater. Niki rolled his sleeves up as she pulled out a squid ink pen and started writing. “This may feel cold, sorry” she apologized as she finished her writing.

“Don’t worry! I don’t feel cold anymore!” Ghostbur said cheerfully, causinging Niki to wince. He looked down at the message Niki had scrawled on his arms reading  _ Follow Dream, look for Tommy  _ on his right and  _ Don’t be seen by Dream  _ on his left.

“Follow Dream, look for Tommy. Don’t be seen by Dream.” Ghostbur repeated slowly.

Niki nodded nervously “Do you understand what that means?”

“Yeah! It means I have to follow Dream but I can’t let him see me!” Ghostbur said cheerfully.

Niki let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, good.” She mumbled “Now just stick with me alright? I’ll tell you when to follow him.” She commanded, taking his cold ghostly hand in her own. He floated behind her, and she felt odd about leading him around to her flower shop like a child.

She heard from Bad that Dream had been seen close to L’Manburg, and figured now was her best chance before Dream disappeared for another week or more. Still she was worried he wouldn’t stick around for long, which is why she wanted to keep Wilbur close, in case she only found him for a minute or two.

Of course she wasn’t expecting him to walk right through the door of the flower shop, looking for her. 

He didn’t mince words as he approached the counter. “I need two stacks of mushrooms and half a stack of azure bluet.”

Niki looked at him in confusion, but hid it quickly. “I’m assuming that you mean a stack of each?” She asked sweetly, hiding her suspicions. Dream nodded. “Well I can certainly give you the mushrooms, but I don’t have that much azure bluet on me.”

Dream cussed under his breath. “Well how much do you have?” He snapped impatiently.

“I only have six. I can get a large bulk order in around five days if you’d like.” Niki offered sweetly. She had seven, but it would be good to keep at least one.

Dream grumbled, but nodded “Fine. I’ll pay for it ahead of time.” He pulled out the money for both the flowers and mushrooms and dropped it unceremoniously on the counter.

Niki smiles as she gathered up the order. “If you have an address I can have the flowers delivered.” She offered sweetly.

Dream shook his head. “I’ll pick them up when they’re ready.” Dream told her gruffly. Unwilling to give an address? That added to her suspicions.

“Hey Dream!” Ghostbur yelled from the corner of the flower shop, before looking down at his own arms. “Oh! Right!” He said before turning invisible. Niki started to mentally scream as Dream tilted his head in confusion.

“He’s been acting weird all day.” She covered, hoping he wouldn’t ask any further questions or become suspicious. Dream seemed used to this so he shrugged and ignored it. He didn’t seem to notice Niki’s slight shaking either.

As he left Niki called “Have a lovely day!” Dream let out a snort in response but didn’t look back. She then took this opportunity to look at where Ghostbur was and mouth ‘go’ hoping that he got the message. When the door appeared to be caught in the wind just a few seconds too long she could finally rest a little easier.

Still, if Ghostbur was actually able to stalk the masked man and find what he was hiding was anyone's guess. At the very least this was out of her hands now. But she didn’t have time to be idle, she had research to do.

  
  
  


Ghostbur was doing his best. Admittedly, his best wasn’t very good when it came to spying. Not that being invisible and not having to walk didn’t help, it’s just that he… forgot what he was supposed to be doing. Three different times already he just barely forgot that he wasn’t supposed to talk to Dream, and nearly asked him what was going on.

Though as the trip continued and Dream wandered further and further south he started to get it down. ‘Don’t talk to Dream’ ‘Don’t talk to Dream’ he repeated over and over again in his head, occasionally looking down at the writing on his arm. 

Dream ducked through the nether and back to the overworld, unaware of the amnesiac ghost that floated invisible behind him. When they both stepped out into the snow Ghostbur pulled his sleeves down for the miniscule protection it offered, covering Niki’s message.

When he saw the wooden cabin Ghostbur tilted his head in confusion. It wasn’t the same building, but it looked a lot like Technoblades house in the arctic. It was in the complete opposite direction of L’Manburg, yet the similarities were hard to ignore.

Of course the differences were clear when Ghostbur floated inside to find a mostly empty house with dents and messes all over. It felt cold and hollow, far different than Technoblade’s home. Techno didn’t live with people, but he didn’t like being alone either. He had his horse, a cow, an enderman, and even some zombie villagers. His house was full of things, posters and chests, but it was never messy.

Dream let out a sigh as he went the the kitchen to make some mushroom stew. It didn’t take long, but Ghostbur was confused when he cut in half some azure bluet and dropped it in the brew, along with a few drops of a potion he didn’t recognize. 

Dream looked around like he was expecting someone. This gave Ghostbur pause, as the house looked empty. Curiously he looked around, wondering if Niki was possibly mistaken.

“Tommy, I’m back.” Dream called sweetly, making Ghostbur freeze. He didn’t dare move as he heard his younger brother stumble to the kitchen.

If it weren’t for the clear trouble Tommy showed in just walking Ghostbur would have been convinced he was a ghost. Thin, discolored, a shell of his former self. Ghostbur had to bite back a gasp at the sight of his once vibrant younger brother, who now seemed so hollow.

“I have some more soup Tommy.” The masked man spoke softly, but not gently as he pushed a bowl into Tommy’s hands.

“Thank you.” Tommy whispered so quietly that Ghostbur had to strain to hear him. “How’s L’Manburg?” He asked gently.

“It’s quiet Tommy, it’s so pleasant.” Dream told him “There’s no trace of you there, and for once there’s no fighting.” He taunted, running his fingers through Tommy’s once blonde hair that now looked stark white.

Ghostbur was horrified. The scene before him had already started to fade from his memory, but even then it felt wrong. It was quiet, but only because it was empty. It certainly wasn’t pleasant, it felt lonely and sad. Sure there wasn’t any fighting, but no one cared about old grudges when Tommy just vanished. 

“It’s better without me.” Tommy stated softly, sipping the spiked stew.

Dream chuckled “yes it is, at least for now.” He placed a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, squeezing ever so slightly. “Why do you think I’m trying to help you? I know you miss home. I want you to be able to go back.” He sighed “you just can’t be allowed to cause so many issues. You can’t make so many problems for your friends.” Dream purred.

Ghostbur felt his chest twist and his fists shake. He felt… Angry. He’d never been angry before as his vision blurred and faded.

He blinked, and realized he was alone. He looked out the window in confusion to see the sun was starting to set in the sky. Huh. He must have gotten too upset and blacked out again.

But he remembered Tommy was in danger. Dream was hurting Tommy. Tommy needed help.

Floating invisibly around the house he looked for Tommy. It was unnaturally quiet, but he heard soft creaking from a side room. Floating through the door he saw his younger brother, pacing, mumbling to himself, scratching his arms. 

In a panic Ghostbur made himself visible and approached Tommy. “Hey, hey Tommy.” He whispered quietly, not wanting to get Dream’s attention. 

Tommy didn’t respond or look up. He didn’t show any sign that he even saw Ghostbur.

Nervously, he got closer hoping to get Tommy to stop scratching. “Tommy you’re going to be ok.” He whispered. Tommy started to scratch even harder, and Ghostbur could hear the mumbling clearer.

“You’re seeing him, you’re seeing him again. Don’t tell Dream, you need to be better. You could hurt them, you’re going to hurt them, you need to tell him. No, no, no, he’d be disappointed. You can’t disappoint him, not again, you’re seeing Ghostbur, not again. Stop it, stop seeing it, stop seeing it, not again.” He mumbled, his eyes glossy and unfocused.

Suddenly without warning Tommy wrapped his hands around his throat and started choking. Ghostbur let out a gasp as he tried to force Tommy’s hands away but couldn’t do anything to stop him.

He needed to do something to help his brother, anything, but he couldn’t help here. “Tommy, I’m going to get you help. I promise. Please stop hurting yourself.” Ghostbur begged to no avail as Tommy kept choking. Finally his eyes rolled up in the back of his head and he slumped to the ground. When he opened them again Ghostbur was nowhere to be seen, having already headed back to L’Manburg.

Tommy needed help and Ghostbur was the only one who could get it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So y'all chose Monday to update it seems. I now have like three stories that update on Monday lol. Though Saturday was pretty close and Wednesday was in the lead at the beginning. Do y'all have Mondays too?


	15. Memory's To Follow?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT NOTE-You may want to reread chapter 13, I accidently swapped them around two weeks ago

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT NOTE-You may want to reread chapter 13, I accidently swapped them around two weeks ago

The poor ghost rushed back home as quickly as he could manage, thankful that he didn’t run into any rain or snow.

Still his only focus was on getting back to Niki and telling her what he saw. Despite it all his memories were fading so things started to get blurry. Still, he knew one thing; Dream was hurting Tommy. Tommy needed help.

So when he finally arrived at the bakery to find Niki trying to convince Tubbo to get some rest, he didn’t hesitate what so over before yelling “I found Tommy!”

“What?” Tubbo yelled in surprise in an unnaturally weak voice “where is he?”

“Was I right, does Dream have him?” Niki demanded, forgetting her quest to convince Tubbo to finally get some sleep.

Ghostbur nodded “yes, he does. He’s… I can’t remember, it’s all foggy, but it was bad. My memories are already slipping.” 

Tubbo and Niki shared a look. If Ghostbur was already forgetting things it must have been awful. It took him a lot of effort to hold onto bad memories, and they weren’t sure how much time they had left.

“I’ll call an emergency meeting. Ghostbur, Niki, come with me. We don’t have much time.” Tubbo announced, rushing out of the bakery and to the white house while he sent communicator messages to the citizens of L’Manburg saying they needed to come home.

Almost instantly his communicator started blowing up but he didn’t bother responding as he cleared the large table in the white house and set up chairs for everyone to sit.

Slowly the L’Manburg citizens started to return back home, along with a few non-citizens like Bad and Skeppy, who were exploring with Sapnap. 

It took around half the day for everyone to return and the sun had already started setting. Ghostbur’s memories were fading slowly but he held onto them the best he could, knowing how dire it was.

“Tubbo what’s this about?” Fundy asked as the cabinet sat around the large table. Quacity, Fundy, Karl were all there with Ghostbur floating awkwardly around, his ghostly legs not letting him sit.

Tubbo tried not to slouch despite his exhaustion, the dark circles and shaking evident to everyone around him but he tried his best not to show how badly it was affecting him. 

“Niki and Ghostbur had their suspicions that Dream was involved in Tommy’s disappearance, and they followed him to confirm that was true.” Tubbo sighed, his words choppy and his exhaustion clear.

Graciously Niki decided to take over and explain “You see, I became suspicious when Dream came to my bakery to buy a gingerbread cookie. I know he doesn’t like sweets, but Tommy does. Of course that wasn’t nearly enough for me to go after him at first” She chuckled “but then he came to the flower shop and made a very odd order before sticking around L’Manburg for two days. That’s what convinced me he was up to something.”

“What was his order?” Fundy asked curiously, his orange ears bent down ever so slightly.

Niki pulled out a small and messy receipt. “32 red mushrooms, 32 brown mushrooms, and 16 azure bluet.” She read off flatley. Niki always kept good records and it tended to come in handy more often than not. “He claimed he was making a bouquet of flowers for you Fundy, is that true.”

Fundy looked confused before shaking his head. “No, not at all. I didn’t even know he was in L’Manburg.” 

“One would usually get roses or peonies, as azure bluet doesn’t hold well in a bouquet.” She mumbled, before clearing her voice. “Anyway afterwards I went to Ghostbur and asked him if he’d be willing to follow Dream when he came back to L’Manburg. Dream went to my shop yesterday, requesting double his previous order, only doubled.”

“Well that’s odd.” Quackity hummed quietly, his black eyes deep narrowed as he was clearly deep in thought.

There was a short lull in talking until Niki spoke up. “I couldn’t actually fill out the order, not completely at least.”

That got everyone's attention as Tubbo furrowed his brow in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

Niki shrugged “Well, I mean I was able to give him the mushrooms but I didn’t have that much azure bluet on me.”

“And you couldn’t just use bone meal to get more?” Quackity asked, rather suspicious and knowing how easy that would be with the right materials.

Niki didn’t hesitate to meet his eye “I could, very easily actually. But Dream doesn’t know that, and he’ll be returning in four days to collect his order. I’ve bought us some time.”

“Are you sure he’ll return?” Fundy asked, wringing his hands beneath the table.

“Well he paid in full, so I presume so.” Niki said with utmost confidence, not letting any doubt creep into her voice.

Quackity spoke up next “Well that doesn’t even matter right? We know where he is. We can ambush him when he’s unprepared, we can kill him.” He hissed, his eyes full of bloodlust at the thought of the green bastard dead at his feet.

“And we can get Tommy back.” Tubbo chimed in weakly.

“Ah, right, Ghostbur knows where Tommy is.” Fundy suddenly remembered, before looking at the said ghost that seemed to have zoned out a while ago. “Hey dad, where’s Tommy?” He called out, spooking the undead man.

“Oh, pardon? What did you say?” He asked sweetly, causing Fundy to sigh.

“You know, your brother? Where is he?” For one second Ghostbur completely blanked. His brother? Why were they looking for his brother? Where was his brother? He recalled cold, snow, ice, a cabin, and-ah he remembered now.

“He’s out north.” Ghosstbur chimed sweetly. “I’ll show you the way!”


	16. Miscommunications To Nearly Get Everyone Murdered

Techno was unamused to say the least. He knew there were people outside his cabin, trying and failing to sneak around. They’d been there for a good thirty minutes at least, and had not been nearly as subtle as they must have thought. His curtains were closed but he could still hear the footsteps in the snow, could still see the human shaped shadows reflected on his closed windows.

It didn’t help that almost exactly 35 minutes ago Edward suddenly got tense, and he hadn’t calmed down yet. Endermen tended to know exactly when humans were around and Edward liked to be left alone. It’s why him and Techno made such good roommates.

Techno wasn’t certain why they were there, lurking outside, but he knew it wasn’t good. Did this have anything to do with why Philza hadn’t been sending letters or coming over lately? Techno had been getting worried, but he wasn’t exactly in a position to check to see if everything was alright.

He was starting to regret that now. Clearly something had happened, and Techno wasn’t there to stop it. No matter, he might not have been able to stop it from happening, but he could fix it at the very least.

The noise and scurrying stopped suddenly, but Techno was no fool. Edward was still tense, and he knew they hadn't left. He nursed his axe by his side, armoured and tense, wondering if he could brew potions without alerting those on the outside. He knew not to strike first.

What he wasn’t expecting was a soft knock on the door. Too quiet for the amount of people that were clearly outside. Whether it was to lure him out or lower his guard he didn’t know, but it wasn’t going to work.

Holding his axe up in defense he crept towards the door, every footstep quiet and even as he approached, before grabbing the handle, twisting it slowly, and flinging the door open to reveal who was on the other side.

He was unsurprised to see an unarmed but armoured Tubbo at the front door, with Quackity, Fundy, and Ranboo, fully armoured and wielding weapons behind him. What he was surprised at was Tubbo’s reaction. The young president's eyes went wide in surprise, like he wasn’t expecting Techno to open the door, despite it being his house.

He heard a soft “oh fuck” from Fundy before Tubbo opened his mouth and screamed.

“WRONG PERSON! SCATTER!” He screeched, before darting off Techno’s porch, leaving him standing there in confusion.

He was even more confused when people started to stand up in the woods and run, all in the same direction. The three standing behind Tubbo scattered as well, Fundy and Quackity running while Ranboo teleported away quickly.

Within ten seconds his front yard was empty as he counted those who were fleeing to the woods. It was hard to see who was there, but there seemed to be around nine people. Nine people who were clearly prepared for a fight, just not with him.

That left him even more confused. Who could they be after, if not for him? 

Even then, they probably had a good chance of taking him down, depending on how many losses they were willing to suffer. They had motivation, they had the manpower, the fighters, they took him by surprise. If they planned this out well they had a real shot at taking a canon life.

But now they knew where he lived. He knew they could find him, and he would not be caught off guard again. He also knew that even if he wasn’t the main target many of them, Quackity and Fundy at the very least, wanted revenge. This was an opportunity they would waste, unless there was something much, much bigger going on.

So why did they run?

Techno needed to find out, sooner rather than later.

He let out a sigh as he grabbed his cloak hanging on the door. “Don’t worry Edward, they’ve left.” He told his roommate, who was still rather tense. Techno didn’t blame him, that was a close call.

But he wasn’t one to sit and twiddle his thumbs. He was one to act. Besides, the L’Manburgian’s decided to pay him a visit. It would be rude not to return the favor. He’d at least figure out what was going on.

…..

Said L’Manburg army was significantly less calm, rushing through the snowy woods in their panic in only a vague sense of order.

Finally as the snow melted into mud Tubbo stumbled to a stop, utterly exhausted. “Alright, alright, stop. Everyone stop.” He mumbled as loudly as he could before leaning against a tree. 

“Tubbo are you alright?” Niki asked as she tried to catch her breath, concerned for the young president as those around also stumbled to a halt.

Tubbo waved her concerns away despite his dizziness. “I’m fine, I’m fine” he insisted in a weak voice “we need to do a head count.” He finally forced out, spending most of his energy on not collapsing.

Niki saw his obvious distress and decided to take the reins. “Alright! Everyone get over here. We need to do a headcount to make sure no ones left behind!” She called loudly, gaining the attention of everyone nearby.

She quickly did the math in her head before counting the eight people around and freezing. She counted again, slower this time, getting the same number.

“Tubbo, we had nine people right?” The young president nodded as Niki worse softly under her breath “shit. Well ok, we need to see who’s missing.” She looked over them all before saying names out loud. “Ok, there’s me, then Tubbo, Quackity, Fundy, Sapnap, Eret, Purpled, Karl… Were missing Ranboo.”

Before anyone could think of what to do Fundy opened his mouth and started yelling “Ranboo! Hey Ranboo! Where are you!” Quackity quickly went to shush him but his yelling must have worked because only a few seconds later Ranboo appeared, surrounded by soft purple particles.

“Oh I am so sorry, I didn’t realize we were supposed to be traveling together.” Ranboo apologized quickly as he started to fret.

“It’s fine, it’s fine” Tubbo mumbled, going limp against the tree. Ranboo raised an eyebrow in concern. 

“Hey are you alright? You look like you need some help.” Ranboo asked, reaching his long arms to help the boy before he gently swatted them away.

“No no, I’m fine” he slurred. “What we-we need is to get back to L’Manburg.” He laughed ever so slightly causing the others around to give each other concerned glances. “Yeah, yeah, we need to get to L’Manburg and… Figure out what to do next.” He finally mumbled, before collapsing on the ground.

“Tubbo!” Niki screamed as her Ranboo, and Fundy all practically dove to catch the brunette, failing, but picking him up quickly.

“Guy’s, he’s really light.” Ranboo said with a quivered voice filled with concern as he wrapped his elongated arms around him.

Tubbo’s soft blue eyes filtered open as he looked around in confusion “What’s going on?” He asked weakly as he tried to wiggle out of Ranboo’s arms.

“Whoa, hey take it easy Tubbo. You fainted, you need to rest.” Niki told him softly “did you get any sleep last night?” Tubbo shook his head as Niki let out a groan and fished around in her bag.

“Put me down” he told Ranboo softly. The half enderman hesitated, but eventually placed him limply on a fallen tree. Everyone looked at him nervously as Niki pulled out a loaf of bread and handed it to Tubbo.

“Eat this” she demanded. Tubbo looked down at it for a few seconds before nibbling on it a little and putting it down to his side. Niki looked like she wanted to protest but Tubbo spoke up first.

“You all need to get back to L’Manburg.” He said flatly, looking at the ground. Quackity and Fundy shared a look.

“I know, that’s what we-” Quackity started, but Tubbo interrupted him.

“No,  _ you  _ need to head back. I can barely even stand right now and we don’t have time to delay. L’Manburg needs to be evacuated and we need to prepare for the worst.” Tubbo spoke with conviction, but those around him seemed unsure.

“Well I can stay behind with Tubbo.” Karl offered, but Tubbo shook his head.

“No, splitting up will do more harm than good. Both of us will be no match for Techno if he does try to attack anyway, and if I’m alone I can at least hide if he does pass by. Two of us won’t be able to do that.” Tubbo said, sitting straight up despite how exhausted he felt. 

The others were unsure what they should do. On one hand no one wanted to leave Tubbo behind. On the other he made a good point. Staying might do more harm than good.

Finally Quackity pulled an invisibility potion out of his inventory and handed it to the young boy. “Fine. We’ll leave you here for now, but if you see or hear Techno I expect you to drink that.”

Fundy nodded before handing Tubbo his sword. “And as soon as you can walk again I expect you to head straight back to L’Manburg.” Tubbo nodded in agreement before telling the group to get back to L’Manburg. 

Sitting alone he knew this was the quickest way to his country. If Techno was headed to L’Manburg he’d no doubt cross Tubbo’s path.

The young president let out a sigh before casting his armour and weapons aside as he made himself look slightly more presentable.

Even if he couldn’t convince Techno that they weren’t after him, that they weren’t trying to kill him, Tubbo could at least get in the way. At the very least he could delay, or Techno might decide taking Tubbo down would be enough revenge and leave L’Manburg alone.

It wasn’t much but Tubbo couldn’t stand aside. He had to protect his country, even if the cost was his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Techno "What is a heavily armed 12 year old doing outside my door?"
> 
> Tubbo "I don't know either sir"


	17. Children To Lead

Techno was in for another surprise that day as he headed down the most direct path to L’Manburg, on guard but not expecting a fight. As he neared the Nether portal he didn’t expect anyone to be there after they turned tail and fled. He especially didn’t expect only one person, one person who wasn’t wearing armour.

Tubbo saw him and smiled, before raising his hands up demurly. He shook ever so slightly in the cold as Techno held his axe up in defense, now suspicious. 

“Do you take me for Troy?” He snarled, keeping one eye on Tubbo with the other darting around for any sort of movement in the forest and trees. Any odd movement, the wisps of a potion, a piece of armour someone forgot to move. He couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean it was there.

“Pardon?” Tubbo asked, his movements sluggish and slow. Clearly he was being very precise, not daring to make any quick or unexpected movements that would cause Techno to attack. Techno saw right through it.

“What, do you really think I’m dumb enough to belive L’Manburg left their president to face me alone.” Techno scoffed “Where are they?”

Tubbo looked down sheepishly “They’re hopefully back home right now.”

Techno raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a skeptical gaze. “And they left you, their president, to face me alone? Highly unlikely.” Techno scoffed.

Tubbo looked guilty “well I was supposed to hide when I saw you. There’s no way they would have left me if they knew I was going to confront you.” Tubbo chuckled nervously. “In all honestly they wanted to carry me with them but I convinced them they needed to rush back and I’d be safe.”

The confused Techno even more. “Carry you? Why would they carry you?”

“Because I fainted.” Tubbo said matter of factly.

Techno took a step back and gave Tubbo a long look. He was very pale and very thin. His blue eyes were unfocused with dark circles underneath, his brown hair limp and unkept. His tailored suit seemed so much larger than before, and did little to hide his shaking. 

Techno suddenly realized that he wasn’t dealing with a cleverly planned ambush, but just a sleep deprived kid. His slow movements weren’t so Techno would attack, his shaking wasn’t from the cold, and him being alone wasn’t bait.

“Kid, when’s the last time you slept?” Techno sighed, suddenly feeling a bit tired himself.

Tubbo stared at him blankly. “I… I have no idea.”

Techno sighed again, before plopping himself on the ground. “Sit down kid, you look like you’re about to keel over.”

Tubbo let out a sigh of relief before collapsing on the ground in front of the piglin, reminding Techno of a ragdoll.

“So, why are you here in the first place? I’m pretty sure I missed something at some point. I just opened my door to ten fully armoured fighters who immediately turned tail and ran. I’d like a little context for whatever the fuck that was. I hope you have a good explanation.”

Tubbo slouched a little, relieved. “I’m glad you didn’t just kill me immediately. I was a bit worried you might not even wait to ask questions.” Techno wanted to ask why Tubbo would reveal himself then, but decided not to interrupt. “In truth we thought we had Dream’s location and were looking for him. Ghostbur must have gotten confused and pointed us in the wrong direction.”

Ok, that made Techno even more confused. “And why were you after Dream?”

“Because he has Tommy.”

Techno was even more confused. “Ok, run me by that again, wasn’t Tommy in Logsted?”

Tubbo shook his head. “He hasn’t been there for two months. He’s been missing.”

Techno stared at him blankly. “That doesn’t make sense. Phil would have told me if Tommy went missing.” Then Techno realized with horror that he hadn’t talked to Phil for a very long time. “Tubbo, what happened to Phil?” He asked in a dangerously low voice.

Tubbo sighed and Techno mentally noticed how young he truly looked. “It’s a long story.”

Within the next half an hour Tubbo went over what had happened in the last two months, from losing the compass, to finding the empty Logsted, then traveling with Phil till they were both caught up in a storm, which didn’t hinder them until they fainted from illness and exhaustion, causing Fundy to have to drag them home. He told Techno how it took Tubbo a week to even be conscious, and another to recover enough to continue the search, but Phil hasn’t been doing too well and is still fighting off an infection. 

Tubbo then explains how they’ve transversed the Nether but couldn’t find sight of him, how they were getting desperate and how Tubbo was even considering sneaking into the end, even if it would be a death sentence.

  
  


Then he explained how Niki had gotten suspicious and was working in secret. He explains how she had Ghostbur follow Dream in secret, and how he saw Tommy and ran back home to tell everyone.

“Though he must have gotten confused somehow and pointed us here. Sorry about that.” Tubbo laughed humorously.

Techno just stared. “Well…. That was certainly a good explanation.” He scratched his neck nervously. “Not the one I expected though.”

“Well I just hope it’s sufficient enough to stop you from attacking L’Manburg.” Tubbo laughed slightly, utterly exhausted.

Techno shrugged “I probably wasn’t going to do that anyway.” He sighed before standing up and stretching. “Do you want me to head back with you to help explain that L’Manburg won’t have to worry about a raging piglin coming for revenge.” He joked, but he did want to do a few things in L’Manburg, mainly see Phil and help find Tommy. He was pretty certain that he was a wanted criminal, but if the president let him back he doubts anyone would say anything.

And the president happened to be a sixteen year old boy, that was a major pushover. 

Tubbo as president, how did that happen, and why didn’t anyone take his place?

Oh, right, Wilbur blew everything up. Then Techno summoned withers and threatened him. No wonder no one wanted the position after that.

“Yeah, that would probably be a good idea.” Tubbo said before pushing himself up. Techno barely noticed how his eyes rolled upwards before he suddenly started to collapse. Techno leapt forward instinctively and grabbed him by the arm before his thin body could meet the ground.

Techno forced him into an upright position as his head drooped to the side. Tubbo did not wake up. “Hey, kid, wake up.” He shook the limp boy, hoping for a reaction. “Come on, I don’t think me going to L’Manburg without you will be a good idea.” Techno grunted, shaking him a bit more. Tubbo did not stir.

Techno sighed as he expected to have to wait for Tubbo to wake up. He poked Tubbo’s cheak, then froze at how warm it felt. Worried he placed the back of his hand on his forehead, which was even hotter than his cheek.

Techno reached down to grab Tubbo’s wrist to check his pulse, and noticed how cold his hands were.

“Well fuck.” He mumbled, before tossing Tubbo’s unconscious form over his shoulder. He was far lighter than he had any right to be, and with him pressed so closely against Techno he could easily feel Tubbo’s ribs. Clearly his suit hid how small he had truly gotten, or there is no way L’Manburg would have let him go. Even they couldn’t be that stupid.

Techno realized that waiting for Tubbo to wake up wouldn’t be an option as he sighed and started heading towards L’Manburg, with the still unconscious president slung over his shoulder.


	18. Enemy's To Ally

“Hey I have your child president! He’s unconscious but it’s not my fault! Can someone please come down and take him?” Techno called from in front of the entrance to L’Manburg. The country looked empty, but Techno knew better.

Cautiously he stepped inside the borders, looking around for an attack. No one came out of hiding, so Techno called out again. “Tubbo told me what was going on! I’m not going to attack, I promise! Can someone please just take him?” He asked, a little softer but still loud enough so hopefully someone could hear. No one answered back.

Techno sighed in annoyance. “This is not how I wanted to spend my day” he grumbled, Tubbo still unceremoniously slung over his shoulder.

He saw a shock of blonde hair rushing towards him and instinctively went to pull out his axe before he recognized Niki’s slender figure.

“Tubbo!” She cried “Oh no no no, what happened? Techno, what happened?” She asked, fear clear in her voice.

Techno shrugged as he took the young brunette of his shoulders. “Dunno. Think he might be sick. We were sitting and when he went to stand he just collapsed. I’m not good with this stuff.”

Niki grabbed the young boy in an awkward bridal carry and frowned. “He’s cold, really cold. I’m going to bring him to the infirmary to warm him up.” She turned to leave, but paused before looking into Techno’s beady black eyes with her own soft brown ones. “Hey, you’re close with Phil, right?” Surprised at the question Techno nodded vigorously in response.

Niki let out a sad sigh “well then follow me. He probably won’t be conscious, but if you want to see him then…” She trailed off, unsure exactly what she was trying to say. “Just, follow me. You’re probably cold as well.” She said bluntly, before heading down the main path to a deserted country.

Not knowing his way around Techno had little choice to follow her as she walked, eventually splitting off from the main path to a cozy but oddly tall wooden cabin. The doors were also oddly tall, but when he walked inside and saw the nine foot Bad nursing an unconscious Philza he saw why.

The horned demon looked surprised at the three new people, but smiled anyway. “Well hello, I wasn’t expecting any visitors.” He lagged sweetly, before looking down at Tubbo. “Oh goodness, is he hurt?” Bad asked, before taking the unconscious Tubbo off of Niki with unnatural ease.

Bad always made Techno a bit wary, and his almost constant kindness made it worse. He could never tell what angle the demon was playing at, and he could sneak up on almost everyone. It was always rather disconcerting to be minding your own business then suddenly a nine foot demon is behind you. 

But Techno knew he was a good medic, so he didn’t protest Bad taking Tubbo into a different room. He was also distracted by Philza’s unconscious form, resting softly on a bed, looking all too pale. His grey wings were spread out and bandaged, never fully healing from the explosion so long ago, but clearly being groomed and cared for well. If it wasn’t for the plastic mask covering his pale face Phil would have looked like he was sleeping.

Bad came back into the room, still smiling, unlike Techno “So what’s with the mask? Can he not breath?” Techno asked gruffly, just barely keeping the fear out of his voice.

Bad giggled a little, annoying Techno “Oh not at all muffin! While he’s unconscious he can’t drink potions, so it’s just used to give him potions. We can attach splash or lingering potions to the other end. Currently we’re just giving him a nutrient potion.” Bad explained cheerfully.

“A nutrient potion?” Techno asked. It sounded familiar, but he wasn’t familiar with it. Most of his potions were for battle and healing, not prolonged unconsciousness.

“It’s not as good as real food, which we try to give to Phil anytime he’s awake, but it’ll keep someone from starving and give them enough nutrients for their body to heal.” Bad explained sweetly, brushing his blond hair out of his face. 

Despite his wings Phil never looked like an angel. Anytime he spoke he seemed tired. Techno remembers a time when Phil was almost as wild as him, youthful and vibrant despite the fact that he was double Techno’s age. That all faded away after Wilbur’s death. He became quiet and worn, sad. Techno was upset about his death too, but it’s not the same. He saw the end for a long time and he didn’t have to pull the trigger in the end. Phil did.

Techno’s not even surprised he brought himself to near death looking for his youngest. He wished he didn’t, but what can you do?

“Would you like some tea while Tubbo warms up?” Bad offered sweetly.

“No offense, but I am not going to drink anything you guy’s give me.” Techno replied flatly. Bad laughed, clearly thinking he was being sarcastic. He wasn’t.

“Pardon me” Niki spoke up, getting the attention from the two practical giants beside her. “I think it might be a good idea to get the cabinet together and explain what is going on, before another miscommunication blows up a country.”

“I won’t blow up L’Manburg” Techno grunted.

Niki shrugged “crazier things have happened.” Techno really couldn’t argue with that. “I can call them here, but if you want to go to the church of prime just to ensure nothing will happen I can arrange that.”

Techno looked over at Phil, then glanced at the door in front of Tubbo’s room. “I think you can call them here. I’ll wait outside.”

Thirty minutes later Techno was staring down a confused Fundy and a very pissed off Quackity with Niki standing between the three of them, worried that if she left they would all kill each other in three seconds flat. The validity of her fears was debatable, but Techno was at least a little glad there was a neutral party involved.

“So Tubbo just happens to have invited you to L’Manburg, but is now unconscious and unable to refute you? Seems unlikely.” Quackity glared, his usual smile nowhere to be found.

“He did faint before, and Bad said he’s not injured.” Fundy says softly, before whispering “We wait for Tubbo to wake up and see what he says. If Tubbo dies, then you can attack.” To Quackity.

Techno rolls his eyes, having heard them but not really bothering to point out how stupid that would be.

“Look, Tubbo explained everything already. If I was going to hurt him then why would I wait till after the explanation?” He asked “besides, for all the reasons someone could have for bringing ten armed fighters to my doorstep, that’s a pretty good one.” Techno admitted.

Fundy seemed a little unsure and Quackity just seemed angry. Techno continued “in fact I want to help you. If Dream has taken my little brother then he needs to pay.” Both seemed surprised at Techno referring to Tommy as his little brother, but no one said anything about it.

Finally after a few seconds Fundy broke the awkward silence “Well, We’ve figured out that we have to go south in looking for Dream, Ghostbur gave us the wrong directions because apparently the cabin’s looked similar enough to cause him confusion.” Fundy scoffed “at least we think, you know how his memories are.”

Fundy clearly meant it as an offhand comment, but it got Techno thinking. “Wait, did you say cabin?” Techno asked. Fundy nodded, his brows furrowed in confusion as Techno continued. “Dream can’t build to save his life.”

“Ok?” Fundy mumbled in confusion, not sure where the piglin was going with this.

“Just listen” Techno commands “Ghostbur might have a bad memory, but he’d recognize my building style, or at least notice it’s familiar.”

“And why is this relevant?” Quackity demanded.

“Because I tried living south of L’Manburg for awhile. It didn’t work, but I never took down the cabin I made.” Techno explained casually.

Quackity and Fundy looked surprised, as Niki turned to look at him, half incredulous, half glaring. “Start with that next time!” She demanded angrily. She looked so annoyed Techno couldn’t help but laugh, making her glare even more.

“Well do you remember where it is?” Fundy asked frantically.

Techno laughed “Of course! Do you remember who you’re talking to?”

“So we can just go there now! We can get Tommy back!” Quackity roared, already grabbing for his sword. “We already have weapons and potions prepared, let’s just gather everyone back up and head out!”

“No you idiot!” Niki hissed, getting really tired of how trigger happy the older man was. “We’ve traveled for hours to find Techno, and ran as fast as we could back to L’Manburg. Everyone's exhausted and in no position to fight. Our president is unconscious. That is a terrible idea!”

“We should wait till tomorrow then.” Fundy said quietly, not wanting to annoy either party anymore than they already were.

“Well at that point Dream will just be in L’Manburg.”

“Wait” Techno said in confusion, “Why will Dream be here tomorrow?”

Niki rolled her eyes “He needs to pick up a flower order. I have no guarantee that he’ll actually be here, but he paid ahead so…” Niki trailed off.

The door to the infirmary creaked open, and a tiny Tubbo stumbled out, pale and wrapped in an oversized robe, his clothes underneath.

“Tubbo! You should be laying down still. Did Bad say you could come out here?” Niki scolded.

Tubbo looked down sheepishly “He said it was ok, and I just wanted to make sure no one got murdered.” The kid defended. Niki let out a sigh, not really able to argue against that. 

“Well we haven’t figured what we’re going to do yet, but we’ve pretty much decided that we have to act when Dream arrives tomorrow.” Quackity explained.

Tubbo thought for a second, before looking at Techno. “And are you willing to help us?”

Techno nodded without any hesitation “Tommy’s my brother. I’m not going to lose him.”

With this conformation, Tubbo smiled. “Well how good of an actor are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me at the beginning of writing "Oh no! There are no blindness potions in Minecraft. How can I possibly make this work within the confines of the game?"
> 
> Me now "Fuck it, nutrient potions are a thing now."


	19. Fights To Stage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I figured after last night y'all might want some cheering up, so I'm updating early. Though maybe 'cheerying up' isn't the right turn of phrase. How about 'bringing you a step closer to eventual catharsis.

“Hello, I’m here for the rest of my order.” Dream sighed, walking into Niki’s bakery. He was exhausted, the trip from his cabin to L’Manburg was a very long one, and Tommy’s hallucinations were getting less common without the flowers, making Dream very nervous. To overcompensate he started making the boy stay awake for most of the night. Which of course had the effect of making him stay awake as well.

In his tiredness he didn’t notice that L’Manburg was surprisingly loud and busy, nor the unease in the air, nor Niki’s worried expression as he stumbled into the flower shop.

However he certainly noticed the slight quiver in Niki’s voice when she spoke softly. “Dream?” He was caught off guard, and looked up in shock, only to notice how scared she looked.

“What happened?” He demanded, all his exhaustion suddenly gone.

“It’s Techno!” She cried “H-he’s by the whote house, he keeps threatening us with withers and TNT, a-and he says he killed Tommy.” Niki started to tear up, putting all of her limited acting skills to very good use.

“What!” Dream yelled, unable to help himself. Tommy couldn’t be dead, only a few hours had passed, and he didn’t get a message. He couldn’t be dead, right?

“M-maybe? I don’t know! He just keeps talking about Thesus, and Pirithous and Lycomedes. I don’t know what it means!” She practically yelled “he snapped, I think he’s gone crazy!” Her lip wobbled as she looked pitifully at Dream, nervously hoping that it was enough to get him to act.

He looked out the flower shop window, and nodded. “Ok, Niki stay here, I’ll take care of this.” He reassured. She bit her lip to keep from smiling and nodded pitifully as he ran out the door, not noticing her grab an axe, down an invisibility potion, and follow behind.

He didn’t stop running till he got to the center of the country, but then he froze. The sense before him was far worse than what he heard from Niki, striking him with a mix of fear, confusion, and admiration.

On the main stage, surrounded by water, stood Techno. Heavily armed and armoured, a feral look in his eyes. Dozens of wither skulls were littered around him, his large hand grasped around one of them with ease, with an almost completed wither behind him. His hair was messy, his crown askew, and his tusks bared. He looked utterly deranged.

But his attention wasn’t focused on the crowd, no, it was focused on the small boy beside him on the stage. The president of L’Manburg had never looked smaller, and Techno had never looked angrier.

“Are you Pirithous or Lycomedes!” Techno roared “The traitor or the friend!” He was loud, Dream could hear him easily from the crowd. Tubbo didn’t answer, struck with terror. He was pale and shaking, and it was clear to all that Techno was seconds away from killing him a second time.

“Where is Theseus? Where is my brother, Pirithous?” He roared, before finally turning to the crowd. “Which of you lured him to the cliff? Which of you cast him down? Where is Lycomedes?” Techno demanded, swinging his axe with wild abandon. “Theseus may have never gotten his justice, but Tommy will!” 

Dream wisley decided to stay quiet, as did everyone else in the nervous crowd. The piglin hybrid seemed enraged even further. He roared, before shattering the skull in his hand and storming over to Tubbo.

The boy didn’t even have a chance to run as Techno grabbed him by his shirt, hoisted him up, and held him over the edge of the stage. A gasp rose from the crowd, Dream included. The fall probably wouldn’t kill him with the water on the ground, but it might hurt, and if Techno wanted to finish the job he might jump into the crowd.

“Fuck it” The piglin hybrid growled “Pirithous was supposed to die first anyway.” Be announced, before dropping Tubbo off the stage. A gasp rose as he fell into the water, before Quackity grabbed him and pulled him out. The crowd started to panic as a few turned and ran.

“Unless someone tells me what happened to my brother you will all share his fate!” Techno roared, picking up another wither skull and flung it into the panicked crowd.

Then his eyes landed on Dream, and his wicked snarl morphed into a wicked smile “Dream! Just the man I was hoping would arrive!” His words immediately made Dream feel uneasy, but he stood his ground. “Why don’t you come on stage? I want to make a deal with you.”

Now Dream was no fool, he knew there was little Techno couldn't do on his own. He knew that if Techno was asking for a favor, and Dream accepted, he’d have to get his hands and his reputation very, very dirty.

But a favor from Techno? Utterly priceless.

So with a little trepidation he walked up on stage to face a maddened piglin, not noticing the soft footsteps behind him in all the noise. Said piglin let out a keening laugh, before grabbing Dream’s arm. “Welcome, welcome!” He laughed again, and Dream was getting even more concerned. Techno had clearly lost it at some point, making him uncontrollable. That was fine for now, but his rage needed to be tempered lest he goes rampaging through the smp lands.

“What can I help you with?” Dream purred, his hand on his axe. He glanced out to notice the crowd had cleared. They must have fled, recognizing that they had no chance to fight. It meant Dream didn’t have to play nice. “Do you want to raze L’Manburg to the ground?”

Techno laughed again, not keening, but dangerous and low. “Oh I just needed to get your attention, but you see I have a perfectly good reason” he tossed his axe aside, showing he was unarmed. Somehow this only made him more threatening. “All I need you to do is answer one question, and I’ll do you a very big favor.”

Dream narrowed his eyes under his mask, tightening the grip on his axe. “What’s the question?”

Techno smiled, and Dream noticed that he looked significantly calmer than before. He still seemed angry, but not unhinged. It was like a flip had switched. Dream realized how much danger he was truly in, but it was too late to flee. 

“Well I have two questions, but they’re simple questions. You’ll know the answer.” He paused “first, how long does it take for someone to respawn after taking a canon life?”

Dream hesitated, not sure how to answer as he held his axe up. Finally he answered “12 hours to two day.”

Techno smiled “thank you! Now for my second question, and if you answer honestly I’ll grant you that favor by making your death as painless as possible.” Well that didn’t sound good. “Where is Tommy?”

Dream took one last look at Techno as he decided what to do. Clearly Techno knew what was going on, and he came prepared. That was a luxury Dream didn’t have. If he tried to fight Techno here and now, he would die. He had only one advantage: He was significantly faster than the piglin.

So he took off running.

He didn’t get very far, however, when an invisible axe buried its way into his bare chest. He staggered back in confusion, but didn’t have time to process what had happened when the axe swung again, casting him to the floor.

He didn’t have a chance to stand up when the axe swung a turid and final time into his bare neck, before Niki flickered into existence, her face set in rage, as he breathed the final breath of his first life.

The stage was silent as Niki painted, her axe held tight. She only relaxed slightly when Dream’s body faded.

Techno just looked at her, impressed. When he suggested someone to catch Dream off guard Niki wasn’t exactly his first choice. He suggested Quackity, because despite the man's losses to him he was still a good fighter. However Fundy wasn’t sure Quackity would be able to keep his cool, so he suggested Niki.

Niki was all too eager to bash Dream’s head in, and while Techno had never seen her fight she knew how to hold her axe properly and how to swing it without it being flung out of her arms. That’s all Techno really needed, someone to hold him back before he could flee. Someone to distract Dream so Techno could land a killing blow.

Of course Niki didn’t even give him the chance to do that, her swings landing true, hitting him twice before Techno even had a chance to react. By the time he could do anything he didn’t need to, Dream was already at Niki’s mercy.

While usually it was bountiful, the masked man had lost it all when he took Tommy.

Finally Niki sighed “They should have gotten the message that he’s dead.” She told Techno “however they’re already headed towards the cabin, at least if the coordinates are right.”

“They just split off, right?” Techno asked. Niki nodded. “Well then we should be able to catch up, do you have a horse?”

Niki shook her head. “I don’t, but I want to stay here anyway and help Bad get a room set up.” She informed “are you following them.”

Techno scoffed “what, and waste the opportunity to tease my brother about getting kidnapped? No way, I’m going to be there when they find him.”


	20. Uneasy Allies To Make

“Look, all I’m saying is it is a little suspicious that he left for thirty minutes and came back with over a hundred wither skulls.”

“I’m not going to argue, but what do you expect me to do about it?” Tubbo sighed. Quackity had a point, of course, but what was Tubbo to do? It’s not like they had several options. I mean everyone agreed that ‘let a known terrorist in the country with weapons of mass destruction’ was the best idea they had. At that point ‘give an angry woman an axe and invisibility potion’ was an improvement.

Quackity was about to shoot back, but everyone's communicators went off. He shared a look with Tubbo and ghostbur, before they all hesitantly looked down to check the message.

_ Dream was slain by Niki _

Quackity let out a sigh of relief, as Tubbo shouted in celebration. Seeing the kid happy actually surprised Quackity, considering how long it had been since he so much as smiled. Briefly he wondered if he should be concerned, but was distracted by the ping of his communicator.

_ Niki: I’m staying behind to help Bad set everything up. Techno should be catching up on his horse _

Quackity let out a sigh. He really did not like the piglin, and he didn’t trust him either. But he was Tommy’s brother, so it made sense that he’d want to come along.

Ok, he was probably Tommy’s brother. Quackity wasn't 100% sure honestly, and he never found a good opportunity to ask. Even then he didn’t know how the genetics worked out exactly. Was Tommy adopted? Probably.

No, wait, Tubbo was adopted. Tommy made it pretty clear he wasn’t. Was Techno adopted?

Alright, he knew Wilbur was not adopted, but anyone else could have been. 

You know what, it was best to just not ask.

“Looks like Techno’s going to be joining us” Tubbo announced as he led on towards the cabin. “At least if he can catch up.”

“Do you think that would be a problem?” Ghostbur asks quietly.

Tubbo merely scoffs. “No.”

Not even thirty minutes later Techno caught up on Carl, seemingly completely at ease.

“You’re not allowed to bring wither skulls into L’Manburg anymore.” Tubbo greeted, no malice in his voice.

Techno merely raised an eyebrow. “I was allowed to in the first place?”

“Fair point”

The rest of the journey was walked in mostly silence. There were a few questions asked, a little bit of humming here and there, but it was mostly quiet. It didn’t help that as they got closer and closer, the gang got more and more nervous. Even Techno, who outwardly seemed relaxed, felt himself get anxious as he approached his old cabin.

There was a reason he decided not to settle there, it was too cold. Plants couldn’t grow there, fresh water was lacking, and storms were frequent. It wasn’t exactly a survivable place, and one could get turned around or lost very easily in the snowy landscape.

It would be easy to keep Tommy isolated in a place like that, but even then knowing Tommy he would have tried to escape at least once. 

Tubbo was having a completely different thought process. Tommy was already in exile, and Dream said he didn’t want visitors. Was that a lie? Did Tommy miss him as much as he missed Tommy?

It’s no surprise Dream would have been able to lure Tommy away. He betrayed Tommy, abandoning him and leaving him alone indefinitely. His only companion was Dream, a manipulative bastard that would do anything for control. What had Dream done to Tommy?

What had Tubbo done to Tommy?

The sky was clear when they finally arrived, a small blessing after so many curses. The cabin itself stood out, the only color in a field of white, though it was small compared to surrounding hills.

“Do you feel that?” Ghostbur asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. The other three shared a confused look.

“Do you mean the cold?” Tubbo asked. As far as he was aware Ghostbur couldn’t feel things, excluding temperature that is.

He merely shook his head “No, not that. It feels a little like… Tubbo. Yeah, it feels like Tubbo!” Ghostbur explained excitedly. Everyone else was still confused.

Suddenly Ghostbur floated down gently to the snow. “Right there!” He yelled excitedly, pointing to seemingly a random spot of snow.

Tubbo hesitantly leaned down beside him, before digging into the snow. It’s coldness burnt slightly, but he ignored that as he continued, eventually rewarded with a glint of metal. He grabbed at the thing, and froze when he realized what it was.

He held the compass up, not noticing how his hands shook. The frozen metal bit at his fingers, yet he refused to let go. It was dented, but still worked, the single red needle pointing directly to Tubbo.

He let out a soft sob as his whole body started to shake. The others were starting to get concerned, and even Ghostbur frowned.

“Hey, Tubbo, what did you find?” Quackity asked nervously. Tubbo looked up at him with tear filled blue eyes. Tubbo merely held the compass up, and Quackity felt his heart twist.

“Oh Pequeño” he sighed “I don’t think he got rid of it on purpose.” Quackity tried to console.

“I don’t think so either” Tubbo cried, gripping the compass even tighter. 

Techno was very confused, but decided this really wasn’t the right time to ask. Plus, the crying made him feel awkward. He didn’t know how to handle crying people, especially young kids.

Tubbo’s crying reminded Techno that he was still just a kid. Him and Tommy both. It was a sobering thought. Neither of them should have been put in that position, and everyone knew the reason behind the exile was bullshit. Still, there wasn’t a lot to be done. Techno would have just killed Dream there and then, but it’s not like Tubbo could exactly go toe to toe with Dream. 

He would have been mad at the kid, if it wasn’t painfully clear that the kid was already beating himself up over it all.

“Look, Tubbo, the cabin is right there. Hopefully Tommy’s in there, and you two can be reunited. The compass won’t matter when you two are in arm's length.” Quacikty reassured awkwardly. For a second he thought he made everything worse, but Tubbo just sniffled and nodded, before heading forward nervously.

Tommy was so close, so very close. Tubbo hoped that he’d finally be able to see him, to apologize. He hopes Tommy will forgive him, and he could bring him back home to L’Manburg, where he would be safe, where he could heal.

But deep down Tubbo knows it won’t be that easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you ask, no I don't speak Spanish, I speak google translate


End file.
